Drop of Poison
by GrayShoedWonder
Summary: Nimueh kidnapped Merlin and Morgana when they were children and raised them as her wards. Now they're old enough to carry out her revenge on Camelot. But can they bring themselves to do as she asks? And is she deceiving them or being truthful?
1. Chapter 1

**My new Merlin story! I am SO excited about this, there aren't even words. Actually there are, but they're loud and sort of obnoxious and more than a little difficult to put into writing. Enjoy!**

**Pairing: Possible Merlin/Morgana in the future.**

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><p>Chapter 1: Plans<p>

The girl whirled, bringing her blade up to parry her opponent's blow, then spinning to deliver one of her own. Her black hair writhed around her but somehow managed to never obstruct her vision. Her blow was blocked and she stepped back, still on guard, and looked at her opponent from the first time since the beginning of their sparring match.

The tall lanky boy was bent over, gasping for breath. He pushed his dark hair out of his eyes and stood up straight, sending mock glares in his opponent's direction. "Pretty good Morgana," he said. "Much better than last time, at least. I can see you're improving."

She smiled in mild amusement. "I don't think I'm the one that needs improvement, Merlin. Whatever shall you do if you are set upon by bandits?"

He laughed, picking up his sword and going to clean and replace it on its rack. Morgana followed suit. "I can always use my magic instead," he said. "Nimueh says that it's my best asset anyway."

Morgana scowled at the mention of their mentor and guardian. "I do wish that she would tell us what is going on. It's always implied that we will do something soon, but nothing ever happens."

Merlin didn't respond. He didn't really want to leave their home on the Isles of the Blessed. Their older sibling, Morgause, had been sent away some years before but Nimueh had kept Merlin and Morgana with her. In the strictest sense perhaps Morgause was not their sister. She was Morgana's older half-sister and Merlin was completely unrelated by blood to either of them, but they had been raised as a family so that was how they considered themselves. The three children had, at least. Merlin sometimes felt left out of Morgana and Morgause's games, and he was not nearly as close to someone as they were to each other. This was not helped by the priestess either. It was often that Merlin had caught Nimueh in a lie, playing them off each other and manipulating their small, but no less important, feelings. Though she was all he had ever known as a mother he distrusted her to his core, and took everything she said with a grain of salt, searching behind it for ulterior motives.

Nimueh told them when they were very young that they all possessed great magical power and had been threatened at birth by those who feared their gifts and what they might do with them. She claimed to have saved them all, and raised them in secrecy so that they might fulfill their destinies, assigned them hundreds of years before. In all his twenty-plus years of life, Merlin had never once seen a sign that his teacher aged. She remained perpetually young, beautiful and slender. In fact, by this point she looked barely older than her wards.

"I think something's actually happening now, Morgana," Merlin said, trying to calm her fiery temper. "Nimueh has been gone more often than usual, and for longer periods of time. Plus, she's been looking at us differently."

"Well, she certainly hasn't let us in on it if something is happening, which she really ought to do. After all, all she does is go on about our destinies and never give us anything to do but stupid exercises and lessons."

Merlin led her into the hallway and down a set of stairs that led to the underground city. Most of those who had been to the Isles of the Blessed (admittedly, not many) assumed that some great war had destroyed the city and that it was uninhabited. This was untrue. The city had been destroyed by a great war, but it was by no means uninhabited. While the city above was beautiful, tragic, and provided nothing needed to live a semi-comfortable life, the underground portion of the city certainly did. It had not been destroyed either by war or time, and was where their strange little family lived.

At the bottom of the stairs he turned left, into a small armor. He laid his blade on a table and reached for a rag. "Why do you want to leave here so badly Morgana?" Merlin asked, rubbing the sword down.

His foster sister copied his actions. "Don't you think it's just a little boring here? We've been hearing about our destinies since were were children, for as long as we can remember. Nimueh raised us on a diet of magic and secrecy. Morgause left years ago. Shouldn't we also leave? I want to do something that matters!"

"We leave for competitions and tournaments."

Morgana rolled her eyes. "Merlin, we have never been more than an hour's ride from the Isles of the Blessed. Surely you want to see more of Albion and help our cause, the cause of our magical kin."

Merlin shrugged. "It sounds dangerous out there for magic users, especially in Camelot."

"But our people are being oppressed and killed. Don't you want to do something to help? Don't you want to make a difference?"

Merlin had no chance to respond before a shape appeared in the doorway, wraithlike and unclear, formed vaguely like a human. "Meet Lady Nimueh in the Hall in twenty minutes," it said in a thin, quavery voice, then faded away, dissipating into the air like mist under the sun. It was a messenger, sent by their mentor to summon them to her presence. Merlin had never liked it, mostly because it meant that the priestess wouldn't bother to get them herself. Almost like they were below her in some way, despite her ardent protestations that they were equal in all but knowledge and experience.

"I guess we'd better get cleaned up," Merlin said instead of responding to Morgana's veiled accusations.

Morgana didn't reply, but stalked from the room instead to change her clothes and ensure she looked appropriate. It was something Nimueh required of them, claiming that good habits were excellent things to have regardless of social class or the theoretical future use of such habits. Merlin put his and Morgana's swords away and left as well, trying to decide how late he wanted to be.

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Twenty-four minutes later he clattered up a set of stone steps, emerging into a wide open hall. The walls were crumbling and all but the strongest of the roof's wooden supports were gone. The sun shone down, casting strange shadows among the ruined walls and tumbled stones. Despite its state of disrepair, it was clear that this had once been a magnificent meeting hall of kings.

Morgana sat at a stone table, her blue dress an unexpected splash of color in the shadows and high gray rock walls. Nimueh stood before her, her tattered red dress detracting nothing from her imposing and unearthly beauty. As always, her feet were bare and her dark hair slightly damp. Merlin rushed across the courtyard and took a seat beside Morgana.

"Is not punctuality a virtue, Emrys?" the sorceress asked, fixing her deep blue eyes on the young man.

"I guess it's my fatal flaw," he quipped back and the corner of Nimueh's mouth twitched against her will.

"I know that you have been greatly desirous of 'doing something', as you so eloquently put it, since your sister left us. And now your time has come. I have a job for both of you. It is of great importance and I will entrust it to no other." She spoke to both of them, although she and they knew the untruth of that statement. Merlin had less than no desire to leave and do something. He was perfectly content to live peacefully on the Isles.

Morgana sat on the edge of her seat, eyes shining with interest. She knew better than to interrupt Nimueh, though, and Merlin could see how she struggled to keep her questions from flying out of her mouth.

"You both know that King Uther of Camelot is bent on destroying magic and anyone who practices it, good or evil. His son, Arthur, is just as hardened against it as his father. I had hoped that the prince might hold promise for a new kind of leadership, but I have thus far been disappointed in what I have observed. He is an entitled brat, set to follow his father and carry on his crusade against magic. You two are to travel to Camelot and seek shelter from the King, claiming that you are nobles chased from your lands by a mad king. He will, of course, give you sanctuary for as long as you need it."

"Why?" Merlin asked, unable to keep the word in.

"Why what?" Nimueh replied, her irritation thinly veiled.

"Why will he take us in? He doesn't know us – we could be anybody, or have any reason to go there."

Nimueh smirked. "Uther does not think that way. He believes that all nobles are honest and pure of heart, and he would never suspect that someone would lie about being noble. It is his flaw, his inability to color outside the lines he has set for himself."

Merlin nodded, still a little skeptical. However, he knew that Nimueh had met Uther more than once and so probably knew him better than either he or Morgana.

"While in the castle, you will poison him and the prince," Nimueh continued, as though they weren't plotting murder and were instead discussing the weather. "The barons and dukes and earls of Camelot will begin a power struggle over the crown, honest men will be turned to soldiers and many will die as battles are begun so one can claim the throne. Then you shall take over, rule Camelot as it should be ruled. You two shall be the ushers of a new era of peace, and I shall rule by your side and help to rebuild our people. Magic will be returned to renown."

Morgana smiled. "When do we leave?" she asked. Merlin was not as enthusiastic as she, but knew that it was his duty to help his people and bring calm to a war-ravaged land. But something about the plan was bugging him – he didn't know quite what it was.

He waited patiently through the priestess's explanation. They would travel as a pair of refugees from the distant land of Arcia, tired and weary, but noble. It's far enough away that Uther had never been there himself, but couldn't dispute their claim; that they had fled from their mad King Pellias, who, after taking over from his father, was bent on destroying everything related to the old king, even his cousins, as Morgana was. Merlin was her good friend and ally, persecuted for retaining his family loyalties and refusing to turn in Morgana. They would keep their names, but Lord Merlin and Lady Morgana rather than as the peasants they were. Or believed themselves to be; Nimueh would reveal nothing of their pasts and they had no way to discover anything.

By the time they were released, Morgana was almost giddy with anticipation. "We're finally going to get out of here!" she said excitedly to Merlin as they left the hall. "We're finally going to actually do something rather than simply training for some unspecified job. Aren't you looking forward to this, Merlin?"

Merlin did not share her bouncing-off-the-walls attitude. Instead he was thinking over the conversation. Something about it bothered him. "I'm ready to play my part, Morgana," he said. "In this great war we must all make sacrifices."

"And _what _is that supposed to mean?" she asked, turning flashing gray eyes upon him.

"I don't think Nimueh has told us her entire plan," Merlin amended. "She's hiding something from us. Nimueh is not one to hand glory over lightly as it seems that she will. We must be vigilant, Morgana."

"What can she do to us?" Morgana asked, refusing to let Merlin dampen her mood. "We will bring about great change. History will remember us!"

Merlin didn't respond. He knew that she would come around eventually, he just hoped it was soon enough to save them and anyone else who might get in Nimueh's way that didn't deserve to be there.

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><p><strong>If you enjoyed it, please review it! If you didn't enjoy it, please review and tell me what you thought could be changed. All opinions are welcome, but flames are ignored. Oh! And spelling and grammar errors - if you catch them, tell me and I'll fix them.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Everyone who reviewed/alerted/favorited - you are the best! You are my motivation.**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

It took them three days to prepare for their visit to Camelot. Merlin spent a great deal of time reviewing poisons and how they were made, so he would be prepared once they got within Camelot's walls. It was always better to have more options rather than less. Morgana and Nimueh planned the pair's outfits and obtained clothes that would allow them to pass as nobility. Neither of them had any need to study deportment or court etiquette. That was something their teacher/guardian had always insisted on their learning and utilizing. Thought they had been baffled by her motives when they were younger, they understood now. Merlin took it as another sign of long-term manipulation, while Morgana just thought it was brilliant planning and management of a complex scheme.

As well as preparing their appearance, Morgana dedicated a map of the citadel to memory, along with general schemes of the surrounding city of poor. Both Merlin and Morgana learned the names of all the important court figures and king's advisors. If they wanted to execute their plan without getting caught, they needed to be as prepared as possible for any situation. Despite insisting on their expanding knowledge base, Nimueh also cautioned them against appearing too well-versed in the ways of Camelot's court.

"It is good to be prepared," she told them one afternoon as they ate together. "They will expect you to have some knowledge, but not all that you have. Use caution in revealing yourselves. Often what is not said is as important as what is said." Merlin couldn't agree with her more, and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening worrying about what the priestess had left unsaid.

The morning of the fourth day, they rode their little boat to the shore, saddled their horses and tied their packs onto the saddles. Nimueh stood at the edge of the dock, watching them but offering no assistance.

"Do not delay in your duty," she said as Merlin mounted his large black stallion. "I shall contact you soon, and I expect a favorable report of your progress."

"You will not have to wait long," Morgana replied from her seat on her gray mare. "We will not fail, Nimueh."

"I would hope not, for I expect nothing less," the priestess told them coldly. The smile she gave them had a threat in it. Clearly, the consequences if they did fail would be drastic, and probably end most unpleasantly for the two of them.

"Bye," Merlin said shortly and urged his horse into a trot, Morgana following closely behind him. As he left, he cast a look over his shoulder. Nimueh's blue eyes were unfathomable as she watched them leave, and he shuddered. She was not trustworthy, that she had proven to him many times as he grew up.

It took them less than a day to reach Camelot's gates, even after they had stopped to eat at noon. They rode in silence, Merlin trying to think of how to protect himself and Morgana from whatever Nimueh was planning, Morgana eagerly imagining Camelot and triumph in their mission. The castle's rising white turrets came into view in the early evening, breaking the otherwise smooth line of forest. Red flags bearing the Pendragon crest waved in a breeze, almost seeming to taunt the two approaching magic-users.

"There it is," Merlin said, pulling his horse to a stop. Morgana mimicked his actions.

"Where Uther lives." Her voice was cold and hard, and Merlin spared her a glance. This constant state of agitation and anger was something he found mildly disturbing. It couldn't possibly be good for her to have emotions like that bottled up inside all the time.

"We will resolve this, Morgana," he told her gently. "Soon it will be over."

She nodded shortly. "We'd better get going if we want to reach the citadel by dinnertime," she said without looking at him. Her horse moved forward and Merlin let her take the lead, falling back into his own thoughts, mostly of Nimueh and Uther and protecting Morgana.

The streets of the lower town were crowded with peasants shopping or talking in the fading light, but most of them got out of the way when they saw the horses. The upper town was less full, but many people flocked to the streets to see the two richly dressed riders pass. When they reached the arched gates of the castle proper, they were stopped by a red tuniced and helmeted guard.

"Please state your business," the man said, his eyes scrutinizing them curiously.

"We come from the court of the late King of Arcia, and seek an audience with King Uther," Morgana replied, her eyes hard, like she was not used to being questions by lowly guards, or even speaking to them at all. "I am the Lady Morgana and this is Lord Merlin."

"Follow me," the guard said, turning and walking under the arch, into the wide bustling courtyard beyond. Morgana cast Merlin a look of apprehension before following the guard. Their first obstacle was passed, but a larger one loomed before them. Uther.

The guard stopped them at the base of a set of wide white stairs leading up to the castle doors. A couple of small boys ran up and took hold of the horses' bridles. "The horses will have to remain here," the guard told them, as if it wasn't obvious. Merlin dismounted silently and helped Morgana off her horse, as though they were truly nobility. "This way," the guard said once they had brushed themselves off and faced him once more. They were led up the stairs and into the castle. The guard sped up, leading them up stairs and around corners in a twisting maze. Merlin was soon lost, but Morgana had no trouble, and nodded subtly whenever something she saw something she recognized from her extensive knowledge of Camelot's layout.

After about four minutes they emerged in front of a set of closed wooden double doors guarded by a set of knights indistinguishable from their guide. When they saw movement, they crossed their spears in front of the door.

"I bring the Lady Morgana and Lord Merlin to see the King," their guard said, and the spears were withdrawn. The doors swung open and Merlin and Morgana stepped into the room.

It was smaller than Merlin had expected the throne room to be and light filtered in through small windows set high into the wall on their right and opposite them. Pillars ran along the sides of the room, and directly across from the door was a tall chair.

King Uther was not as intimating or scary as Merlin had expected him to be. His hair was graying, and he didn't have any sort of bushy facial hair or black eyes that spit sparks. His crown sat low on his forehead and a large necklace hung from his neck, but other than that he was surprisingly unornamented, save a thin gold band on the ring finger of his left hand. Merlin's eyebrows rise. There had never been any mention of him remarrying – there was no queen after the prince's mother died, as far as he knew.

"Sire, the Lord Merlin and Lady Morgana, from Arcia," the guard said, bowing.

"Thank you, you may go." The king waved a hand carelessly and the guard left silently. So he was one of _those _men. The ones who couldn't care less for servants and thought of them as pieces of furniture. Merlin already couldn't stand the man.

"My lord," Morgana began, stepping forward. "I am sure you know that King Pellias was recently crowned king of Arcia. What is not so widely known, especially outside the borders of our country, is that he is insane. His rage against his father is so great the he is destroying all of his father's supporters. My parents were among them. I just barely escaped, with the help of Merlin here. We came to Camelot in search of refuge, until we can find a more permanent place to stay, or are allowed to return to our homeland." Her voice was pleading, and Merlin knew that she was giving the king her best wide-eyed helpless-woman face. He struggled against the urge to roll his eyes.

Uther, however, melted like butter. "Of course. You may stay here as long as you need to. My son Arthur will set you up with rooms, and the servants will take your bags." He gestured to a tall, buff young man with short blonde hair. He looked surprisingly unlike a prince, save his haughty bearing. At his last statement, a small squirrelly man standing in a dark corner scurried away. They could hear his feet tapping on the hallway.

"Than you, my Lord," Morgana said, relief evident in her voice and smile. Merlin was astounded at how convincing of a liar she was. Even he thought for a moment that she was being honest.

"It is no trouble," Uther replied, smiling back. "Anything to help a fellow noble in need." Merlin almost choked on his breath. He could not believe that Nimueh had been so right about Uther. While he hadn't doubted her, he had thought that she might have exaggerated a little to put his mind at ease. Now, however, it was clear that if anything, she had understated the king's blindness. The dark-haired warlock was pulled from his astonishment by Uther speaking again.

"I wonder … have I ever met you before?"

Morgana shook her head, still smiling. "I don't think so, my lord. I have never traveled this far from Arcia before."

"You seem strangely familiar," he said quietly, eyes fixed intently on her face. Suddenly, he shook his head like he was trying to clear his mind. "I must be mistaken. Would you and your companion care to join me and Arthur for dinner tonight?"

"Of course, my lord," Morgana said. Merlin remained silent, watching everything. "We would be honored."

"Excellent. Arthur will show you to your rooms then." He waved again and the young man, Prince Arthur, stepped forward. Merlin was struck by just how much Uther treated his son like a servant, with the same expectation for complete and instant obedience.

"Follow me, please," the blonde said, then bowed to his father and moved towards the door. Merlin and Morgana followed suit, bowing or curtseying as appropriate before allowing themselves to once again be led through the white stone corridors. The prince chattered amicably as they climbed stairs and walked along corridors. Guards patrolled alone, looking bored for the most part.

"Here is your room, Lady Morgana," Arthur said, opening a small door at the top of a staircase. "I trust it will be to your liking."

"It's wonderful," she said, stepping into it and taking off her cloak. She slung it over the back of one of the chairs standing at the table.

"Are you any good with that?" Arthur asked, motioning to the sheathed sword that hung at her waist.

"Oh, she could beat anyone in a fight," Merlin said, speaking for the first time since their arrival at the castle.

Arthur turned in surprise at the new voice. "Well, we shall see about that," he replied haughtily, arching his eyebrow.

"Was that a challenge?" Morgana teased, adopting a haughty look of her own.

"Let's say that you come spar with me and my knights tomorrow," the prince suggested. Then, spotting the sword hilt at Merlin's belt, added, "And Lord Merlin is welcome to join, of course."

"We accept," Merlin said before Morgana could throw in any jibes about his swordsmanship. He preferred to at least keep the possibility open that he would avoid humiliation, despite the fact that he was sure Morgana would crush him the instant she got the chance. "Now, if I may see my room, I wish to change out of my traveling clothes and prepare for dinner."

His room was right beside Morgana's which he was grateful for. It would make planning much easier, so they didn't have to worry about sneaking around the guarded corridors at night without getting caught. Other than that though, it was a very nice place to stay. The windows overlooked the main courtyard of the castle. He would have a perfect vantage point from which to observe the comings and goings of the residents. It was always good to have the higher ground. Arguably, they had it with their magic, but he was always one to take an advantage when it was handed to him on a silver platter.

So far things were going much better than he had expected them to, but the thought of Nimueh's obvious manipulation was bothering him. He had to look out for himself and for Morgana, and do whatever it took to keep them safe.

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><p><strong>What do y'all think of it so far? Please review! I'd love to hear what you think of it...<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Merlin dressed for dinner and went to the council chambers with Morgana when they were called. She had explained to him that Uther had not received them in his official throne room, but that they should not feel slighted. It was simply his way, and those who visited him knew that.

"If we were really from the court at Arcia, we would know of the king's habits," Morgana said, adjusting the lay of her necklace against her pale chest. "Does that look alright?" she asked him, turning.

"You look fantastic," Merlin said, tugging nervously on the edges of his long blue sleeves and feeling uncomfortable without his customary neckerchief. "Let's go. We can't screw this up, Morgana."

"Alright," she said and followed him from the room. Neither of them had worn their most formal or fancy clothes, instead opting to save those for the feasts and tournaments that would surely be held relatively soon. It was common knowledge that there was nothing King Uther enjoyed more than a tournament followed by a feast. It infuriated Morgana to no end that he could do that after thoughtlessly killing hundreds of innocent people.

When they arrived, Uther was already seated at the head of the table. Directly to his right sat Prince Arthur, and beside the prince was an older man in long brownish robes and a man who was clearly a high-ranking knight. They had been talking quietly among themselves but quickly fell into silence when Merlin and Morgana were announced.

"I'm sorry, did we interrupt something?" Morgana asked hesitantly.

"Of course not," was Uther's expected response. "Come, sit down." He gestured to the seat on his left. His hand moved to point at the older man. "This is Gaius, the court physician." The man nodded, his face solemn.

"Nice to meet you two," he said quietly. They nodded back.

"And this is Sir Leon, one of our best knights," Uther finished, pointing to the knight. He nodded, but said nothing to them.

Smiling graciously, they crossed the room. Merlin pulled out Morgana's seat for her, then sat beside the king. He thought it might be better to keep them away from each other. Uther was such a creep and Morgana hated him so much that if she lost control she might well offend the king or even kill him. He didn't want to risk blowing their cover so soon. While he didn't trust Nimueh, he knew that their mission was very important, and he would do anything to keep Morgana safe.

"Thank you for welcoming us to your home," Merlin began. "It was very kind of you, King Uther."

Uther flapped a hand dismissively at Merlin. "It was nothing, really. Anything to help a friend in need." A sharp snap from the king brought servants running from antechambers, bearing platters of food. There was silence while they served themselves before Arthur spoke.

"So, Lord Merlin, were you a knight of Arcia's army?" He smiled devilishly at the younger man across a slab of steak.

"Um, I was never officially knighted," Merlin responded, dabbing at his lips with his napkin. "I practiced with the knights and can handle a sword, but I had no interest in joining their ranks."

"Arthur here is the first knight of Camelot," Uther said, clapping a gloved hand down on his son's shoulder. "Perhaps you can spend some time with him."

"Challenges have been issued and accepted," Merlin said, smiling himself. "But I am not the one he needs to fear. Morgana here could beat every knight in Arcia, even the ones three times her size."

Morgana smirked to herself. It was true; she was undefeated by anyone. And she had competed in several local tournaments as a part of Nimueh's training regiment, never winning to avoid attention, but Merlin knew that if she wanted to she could easily have won. If she wasn't skilled enough to beat her opponent in her own right, she could always beat them using magic. She hoped it wouldn't come down to that through. She wanted the satisfaction of a clean victory. "I don't know about that," she laughed.

"Well, we shall see tomorrow," Merlin said enigmatically, spearing a piece of carrot on his fork.

"Why don't you try the steak?" Uther suggested. "It's really quite good."

"Thank you," Morgana said as a servant poured her more wine, topping off her half-empty goblet. She served herself some of the meat, and the sounds of eating filled the room.

A short knock on the door interrupted their silence, and a guard made his way into the room, leaving the door open behind him. Uther seemed to be expecting him, and listened as the guard whispered into his ear. Morgana peered out the door, trying to see what was beyond it.

She caught a glimpse of a tired-looking young man sandwiched between two more guards, his clothes dirty and his head cut and bleeding. He couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen. She covered her mouth, stifling a gasp. The guard stood up and left, closing the door behind him. The witch turned back to the table and lowered her hand, her eyes still shocked. She had known that such things happened, but had never seen them with her own eyes before.

"What was that, sire?" Merlin asked, clearly handling the shock better than Morgana. She could tell by the way his hands shook slightly that he too had seen the man in the corridor.

"Oh, just news on capturing a fugitive. He was very dangerous person."

"What had he done?" Morgana continued, affecting a look of horrified interest.

"Nothing that should be mentioned in front of a lady," Uther said delicately, spearing a carrot.

Morgana opened her mouth to respond in anger, but Merlin cut her off. "Sire, we have seen some truly terrible things in the past month. I would like to know what that man did, and I don't believe there is anything wrong with Morgana hearing it. She is just curious."

Uther looked at them for a moment, while Arthur remained silent, watching. Gaius kept his eyes on Merlin, and Leon looked very uncomfortable. There was a second of silence, not even a fork clinked.

"He was a magic user. Someone had seen him in the city and reported him, and we've been hunting him for two days."

"What had he done?" Morgana asked, deliberately baiting the king. Merlin nudged her under the table, but she ignored him.

"He used magic. Magic corrupts, causes people to lust for power. He was very dangerous, and will be executed in two days."

Morgana's face became thunderous, and Merlin kicked her hard. He didn't blame her. He himself was having a very difficult time not just killing Uther right then and there. Taking a deep breath, he composed himself. "It sounds like everything has been resolved then," he forced out.

Uther laughed, breaking the tense moment. "Indeed. Our city will remain safe from the influence of magic forever. Righteousness will always triumph." He looked to Morgana.

Giving him a tight smile, she returned to her food, slicing up a chunk of steak with unwonted venom.

"So, Lord Merlin, what do you do if you aren't a knight?" Arthur asked with mild curiosity, changing the subject. Though the witch's face was still hard, it softened a little as she turned her mind to topics less touchy than the death of one of her kin.

Merlin took a deep breath before responding. He and Morgana had anticipated this question and had prepared for it. There was no way he could pass as a knight, so they had needed to come up with a suitable cover story for him. "I studied. I was a scholar and historian. Lately though, I had been developing an interest in medicine. But then King Pellias took the throne and I had to leave." Merlin adopted a pitying and upset expression that he hoped was convincing. "I guess I won't get the chance to study it until we return to Arcia. If we return, I mean."

They had designed this beforehand, hoping to get an in with someone at the castle, preferably close to the king. The royal physician was a good choice, because he would have access to the king's private medicines. If Merlin could slip something into one of them, they'd have completed their task.

"Perhaps you can come study with me in your free time," Gaius said, leaning forward again and looking interested.

"Oh, I couldn't intrude like that-" Merlin began politely, but Gaius cut him off.

"Nonsense, it wouldn't be an intrusion at all," the old man said. "In truth it would be nice to pass some of my knowledge on to a willing student. They're surprisingly hard to come by." Gaius grinned toothily at the younger man.

"That would be wonderful, then," Merlin accepted, smiling back at the old man. There had been so many smiles that his mouth was beginning to hurt. He felt a little sorry for Gaius – the physician was clearly lonely.

"That's all settled," Uther said loudly, slapping Merlin on the shoulder as he had Arthur earlier. Merlin winced and Morgana stifled a giggle at the look on his face.

"It looks as if we'll be right at home here, my lord," she said by way of thanks.

"I hope so," the king replied. "I shall have servants sent to your quarters. Anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't," Morgana promised, flashing him one of her most dazzling grins.

The rest of dinner proceeded smoothly, and Merlin and Morgana excused themselves, claiming to be in need of rest after their long journey. They were silent all the way up the stairs and Morgana invited him into her room once they reached the top. She opened the door and almost jumped a foot into the air.

"Who are you and why are you in my room?" she demanded.

The girl spun around, looking more than a little startled. She had masses of dark curly hair and skin the color of milk chocolate. Her dark eyes were set off by the lavender dress she wore, and she looked to be about Morgana's age if not a little older. "I'm sorry, my lady," she said politely, dropping into a curtsey. "I'm Guinevere, and I'll be your maid during your stay here in Camelot."

"Oh," Morgana said. "Well thank you, Guinevere, but I'm tired. I wish to speak to Lord Merlin for a moment and then I shall retire. You may leave."

"If you're sure, my lady," the girl returned, dropping another curtsy before heading for the door, passing very close to Merlin. The door shut with a snap behind her.

"Curse it all! I forgot about the servants," Morgana hissed angrily. "I have to remember to hide my materials. Magic will of course be necessary."

"We don't want to scare them off," Merlin added. "Or make them suspicious. There are many of them, and if they spread rumors the king may eventually become aware."

Morgana shot him a look. "You are right, of course," she said after a beat. "We need to find a way to rescue that man. Did you hear what Uther said? He's going to kill him!"

The warlock nodded regretfully. "But we can't afford to mess anything up. I will help you if I am able to, but it may simply be too risky, Morgana. We are new here, and there are guards everywhere."

"We can do it," she said. "They think we don't know where anything is, but I have a map of the entire castle in my head. Trust me Merlin, there won't be any problem getting where we want to go."

He nodded again. "Okay, we will try. But we have a big day tomorrow and should probably get some rest. Also, if we're going to rescue him it will have to be tomorrow night."

"Of course. Good night, Merlin," Morgana said, dismissing him. He smiled and returned to his own chambers, praying to the gods that the next day went well.

* * *

><p><strong>I know this chapter is a little shorter than normal - but look! We get a swordfight next chapter, plus a rescue mission! Please review if you are reading. I always love to know what you are thinking!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so sorry that this is a little later than I wanted it to be. My life has been crazy! I'm preparing to move 3,000 miles away from my current home and am getting a new computer and it's just been insane. On to the story, cuz I'm sure you don't care what's happening in my life. :) This chapter is longer than most of my chapers usually are, and I found that I couldn't fit the rescue in here, so that's next chapter! Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

The next morning was bright and pretty and Merlin couldn't help but wish he'd slept through it. Instead, he'd been awoken at some ungodly hour by a small man with black hair throwing his drapes open and then been told that he was expected on the practice field in half an hour. By the time he was ready he was already five minutes late, and it was ten minutes later when he finally found his way to the practice field, where knights stood in small groups while others sparred or sharpened their swords.

Morgana was there already, stretching her legs and flexing her fingers. She gave Merlin a look when he jogged up to where she stood, a little ways away from the Knights of Camelot.

"Why are you so late?" she hissed, changing legs. He flopped down on the grass beside her and bent his own legs into a a stretch.

"I'm always late. Besides, you didn't wait for me and I got lost on the way down here," he said defensively, curling his fingers around his toes and touching his nose to his knees.

Morgana stood up straight and grabbed her sword from the rack right next to them. "Well, at least try not to let it happen again," she said finally, conceding implicitly to his point.

Merlin switched stretches. "I'll try, but I don't have a map of the entire castle in my head like you do!"

"Keep your voice down!" she said quietly, emphatically. "I will _not _be caught because of your foolishness."

Merlin winced. She had a point. "Sorry Morgana."

She smiled, her irritation melting away. It was always difficult for her to remain irritated with Merlin for long. Angry, yes, but not irritated. "Just don't let it happen again."

Merlin's reply was cut off as Arthur called to Morgana from across the field. "Lady Morgana! Are you ready?"

She turned to look at him, gray eyes playful. "If you are, sire. That's still time for you to back out if you so desire."

The blonde prince laughed. "Same goes for you, my friend. I however, am staying. You can't lose me so easily."

Merlin stood up beside Morgana and she fixed her eyes on him. "Wish me luck," she said, smirking.

He gave a low chuckle and put a hand on her shoulder. "He's the one who needs it."

She gave him a bright smile and without another word turned and stalked to the center of the field they were using as a training ground. A layer of grass covered it and the other knights stood in a circle around Arthur, forming the sparring ring. Sir Leon approached Merlin, his chain mail looking incredibly uncomfortable. The warlock shifted, thankful he wore loose cotton clothes rather than layers of metal.

"I do hope that the Lady Morgana is as good as you say she is," the knight said, clearly not hoping for that. They watched in silence for a moment as Morgana approached the prince, their unsheathed swords glittering dangerously.

Merlin chuckled again. He could sense the knight's insincerity and could tell that he wished to knock the visitors off their high horses. "Believe me, Arthur had best not hold back simply because she's a girl. More experienced men than he have fallen prey to that trap."

"I do not believe that Arthur is one to hold back simply because she is a woman. Besides, once he gets an idea of her skill, he will adjust if necessary. We don't want anyone getting hurt." Leon smiled with his eyes, this time allowing the truth of his words to come through.

For a second, Merlin considered this. He knew that Morgana was beautiful, and caught the eye of many men. It hadn't occurred to him that that might be an obstacle here, but he realized how foolish he had been. It was obvious that she would attract attention, especially in Camelot, since they would be staying for a while. The thought ignited a funny feeling in his chest, but he pushed it away and concentrated on the moment. "No, we don't. I believe that Arthur is in more danger than Morgana right now, though."

"We shall see," the knight said. "I know we were introduced at dinner, but we have not personally met yet." He stuck out his hand for Merlin to shake. Despite his desire to show the visitors who was better on the battlefield, Sir Leon was friendly and kind. "We should talk sometime. I would love to hear of your homeland."

"That would be nice. It is wonderful to finally speak to you, Sir Leon," Merlin said, taking hold of Leon's fingers and praying that he did not have to kill this man in the future.

###

Morgana sized Arthur up as she walked across the field to meet him. He walked arrogantly, more of a strut than a walk, and held the hilt of his weapon loosely, with an ease that spoke of years of familiarity. She had fought men like him before. They always assumed that because she was a woman they could easily beat her. It was never long before they realized their mistake.

The opponents met in the center of the field and bowed before turning and taking five paces away from each other. Morgana turned, raising her sword and narrowing her eyes. Arthur did the same. For several long moments they stood there, each waiting for the other to make a move.

Suddenly Arthur did, stepping forward and bringing his sword out and around, towards Morgana's neck. She ducked, and the sword whistled harmlessly over her head. She laughed loudly, eyes glittering.

"Please, Arthur. Don't patronize me." Her sword was raised again. "Now let's do this properly." She stabbed forward, at the prince's gut, her blade sliding along his with an ear-grating metallic noise. Morgana stepped around him and twisted her wrist, freeing her sword. Arthur swung as though to strike her chest, but was blocked by Morgana's sword. She levered the sword up and Arthur stumbled backward, swinging wildly in an attempt to regain his footing. The witch paused, allowing him time to regain his footing.

Silently, they circled around each other and Merlin noticed how much Morgana resembled a snake, coiled and ready to lunge towards her unwitting prey. He smiled inwardly at the thought.

Arthur spun out, his blade slashing towards Morgana's head. She ducked, twisting like a snake to avoid the blow and stabbing towards the Prince's stomach with her sword. He stepped to the side, and her sword missed his breastplate by a millimeter. With lightning reflexes, she brought her sword up, the movement causing the prince's hair to ruffle.

He ducked instinctively and took a step back back, then swung two handed at the black-haired girl's midriff. She dropped towards the ground, then used her hands to push herself up into a crouch and swung one foot out. It connected with the back of Arthur's knee and his legs buckled, unprepared for the sudden change in balance. The heavy armor he wore allowed for little quick adjustment, and the half-second he needed in order to correct his stability was all Morgana needed. She moved, snakelike in her grace and swung her arm around to lay her shimmering blade against his throat from behind. For a second, everything was still.

Then she removed the sword and stepped around the prince, offering him her hand. He took it and hauled himself to his feet, locking his eyes on her, breathing hard.

"Nice try," Morgana said finally, removing her hand and shifting back. Arthur clambered to his feet, more than a little shocked that the lady had beaten him. She looked like a strong gust of wind could blow her away if she wasn't careful.

"How did you-" he began, reaching for his sword where it lay in the grass. "Nobody's ever-"

Morgana flipped her hair from her face and grinned at him. She was barely even breathing hard and looked like she could have gone on for quite a while longer. "Sire, it is a combination of hard training, a refusal to be put down, and people who don't believe I can handle a sword that has allowed me to beat endless numbers of good fighters. Now I have another name to add to my list."

Arthur gaped at her. "What about a rematch? Tomorrow, perhaps? Of you could show me some of your tricks, I could show you mine."

Morgana turned the proposition over in her mind. If she refused, she might lose the chance to befriend the prince and through him, the knights. If she accepted, they could lose time and she would be forced to spend more time with the arrogant prat of a prince. But they couldn't risk losing the good will of anyone at Camelot court. She'd had her fun – it was time to work. A smile plastered itself across her face.

"I would love to, Arthur." The prince gave her a weak smile. She could tell he was embarrassed, and she needed to find some way to rectify it. Even if that meant risking the dignity of her companion. She cast a look over her shoulder, to where Merlin stood awkwardly, nose wrinkled and eyes squinted against the harsh glare of the sun. She gave an internal giggle. Who was she kidding? Merlin had no dignity to risk.

"Maybe if you spar with Merlin you'll feel better, sire," she said, grinning. "I always do."

Arthur laughed despite himself. "Well, how can I resist after that endorsement?"

Morgana turned to Merlin and grossed the field, holding out the hilt of her sword to him. "Merlin, Prince Arthur had issued his challenge. Do you accept?"

Merlin's eyes widened. "Are you sure he meant me?" he called back.

"Yes," Morgana sighed in mild exasperation. She crooked her finger at him, motioning him onto the field. Reluctantly, he crossed the grass and reached for the sword she held. As his fingers took hold, Morgana put her other hand on his shoulder and leaned in almost imperceptibly.

"Let him win," she whispered, then moved past him. Any observer (and there were plenty) would have seen nothing suspicious in the gesture – just one friend showing support for another. Morgana knew that he probably couldn't beat Arthur in simply a swordfight, but using magic, no matter how subtle, would certainly enable him to win, and that was the last thing they wanted or needed. They needed Arthur to win, as heinous as that sounded to her.

Merlin, though a little annoyed that a fool would be made out of him instead of Morgana, understood her reasoning and agreed with it. Keeping Arthur in a good mood and friendly towards them was maybe the best thing they could do right now. If the prince didn't trust them, he could influence the king, who could influence Gaius, and that would put the entire plan at risk.

Resolving to someday pay the prince back in kind, Merlin allowed himself to be soundly defeated. The fight lasted all of two minutes but by the end, Arthur looked very satisfied with himself as he laid the flat of his sword against the warlock's chest.

"Well," the prince said, lowering the blade and eyeing the false lord. "Morgana was right. Fighting you does make me feel better. We shall have to keep you around a while longer, eh?" He smiled good-naturedly and slapped Merlin on the back.

Merlin gave a weak smile as well, accompanying Arthur as he walked to the edge of the ring of knights, who were dispersing as they saw the action end. "Maybe I will, sire, seeing as I have no home to go to."

Arthur looked at the younger man, the smile slipping off his face as he remembered his guests' plight. "You and the Lady Morgana will always have a place to stay here, Lord Merlin. My father is very sympathetic to those in need, especially if they are being persecuted for no reason."

It took all of Merlin's strength to stop his lip from curling in disgust at the hypocrisy pouring out of Arthur's mouth. "I should probably go see Gaius now," he said instead, handing Morgana's sword to a nearby servant to be cleaned. "After all, I am a man of words and books, not of swords or fights."

Arthur smiled at him again, trying to smooth over the rough moment. "Do you know how to find his rooms?"

"Yes, I believe so," Merlin replied. "Thank you. I guess I will see you later." The prince nodded, and Merlin turned and left the field. It was time to worm his way into the confidence of the man who would unwittingly help him kill the king.

####

Merlin climbed a set of winding stairs and emerged into a hallway. A single door was set into the left hand side, with a small wooden plaque hanging on the wall beside it. It identified the room as belonging to Gaius, the court physician.

The door itself was open, and Merlin knocked hesitantly on it, peering into the cluttered room beyond. Tables were covered in papers, books, bundles of herbs, and glass decanters half-full of oddly colored liquids. The walls were lined with shelves, cases, and cabinets, all full of the same things that lay strewn across the surfaces. Along one wall a rickety staircase led up to an even more rickety platform with yet more books on shelves. A small cot was pushed into a corner and directly across from where Merlin stood was a set of three stairs leading up to another wooden door, this one closed.

"Hello," Merlin called when his knock failed to elicit any sort of response. "Mr Gaius?"

A muffled crashing noise, like the sound of a large pile of books falling from a table to a stone floor, came from behind the door, swiftly followed by a very loud and irritated "Oh bother!"

"Mr Gaius," Merlin called again, a little worried now.

"'I'm quite all right!" came the prompt, if somewhat breathless, reply. "I will be there in just a moment."

Merlin hesitated, bouncing on the balls of his feet before taking a couple of steps into the room. It was _very _messy, he noted, a little surprised. Gaius had not struck him as the unclean type. Still, he was glad. Back at his home on the Isle of the Blessed, his room constantly looked as through a hurricane had swept through. It was one of Morgana's pet peeves, and she had spent a great many fruitless hours trying to convince him to keep it clean.

The door across the room opened and the old man appeared at the head of the steps, carrying a large square book. Merlin hurried to take it from the physician.

"Here, let me help you with that," he said quickly, taking the book into his arms.

"Oh thank you," Gaius replied, clearing a space on a nearby table and motioning for Merlin to set the book down. Merlin did so, marveling at how something made only of paper could weigh so very much. "Now what bring you here today, my lord?" Gaius asked, turning to the warlock.

"Well sir," Merlin began, a little slow as he thought about how to phrase his response. "I wanted to speak to you about starting my studies, Mr Gaius. You see, I have wanted to learn for so long, and with all this time I have on my hands, I figured why not begin as soon as possible?" Merlin was not sure how convincing the half-lie was, but the physician seemed to buy it, smiling widely at him.

"It's wonderful to see a young mind so eager to learn," he said, running his fingers over the cover of the book. "We don't get many of those around here, unfortunately."

Merlin gave him a gracious smile. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, but none of them were real. It was more than a little ironic. "That is too bad," he agreed. "Where should we start, Mr Gaius?"

The old man laughed shortly. "Oh please, just call me Gaius. 'Mister' is far too formal."

"Alright," Merlin said. This seemed to be going well, but he was not always the best judge of such situations.

"I am sorry about the state of my chambers," the physician added, turning to look at the disaster. "I was searching for a book and didn't quite realize what a mess I had made." Gaius looked around nervously, as though Merlin might chastise him for not being neat.

"It's no problem," Merlin said hastily. "My room back home was much worse. Morgana used to tease me endlessly and the servants would draw lots to decide who would have to clean it."

Gaius laughed. "The servants have just stopped coming in here entirely." He was silent for a moment, surveying the chaos that surrounded them. "Well, I guess I'd better get on to cleaning this up. I'm not sure that today is the best day to begin your education." His eyes met Merlin's a little regretfully.

"Perhaps I can help you," Merlin offered without thinking. "We can talk while we work."

Gaius raised an eyebrow, "Are you positive?" he asked a little skeptically. "It is not a nobleman's place-"

Merlin interrupted him. "I am your student now, Gaius. It is my job to help you with mundane everyday tasks like these."

"Well, if you must," the old physician amended, stepping over to Merlin's side and surveying the room. "Why don't you pick up all the bottles that are scattered around," he suggested.

"Sure," the warlock responded, beginning to pick his way across the room to one of the tables. "Where should I put them?" he asked, gathering a few into his hands and looking around.

"On that shelf," Gaius told him, gesturing at a very messy shelf of similar bottles. "We can organize them later."

Merlin smiled to show he'd heard and moved over to the shelf, casting a glance at the physician as he did so. Gaius was leafing through stacks of paper, separating them into piles of loose-leaf pages, books, and scrolls. The large square book sat untouched at the end of one of the tables.

"What were you looking for?" Merlin asked, turning to pick up more little glass bottles.

"Excuse me?" Gaius replied, looking up from his work.

"The book." Merlin nodded at said object. "What's in it?"

"Oh, just old remedies. Uther has been complaining of back pains, and no matter what I give him, he says they won't go away. This book is a little radical in its ideas, but I hoped it would hold a possible cure for the king," Gaius explained.

"Oh." Merlin returned to his work, thinking how best to phrase his next question. He knew that Gaius would not be bold enough to speak out against him if he demanded something, but he didn't want to make him suspicious either. Morgana had warned him that the physician had the king's ear. But, Merlin decided, it was for more likely that Gaius would simply think him eager to learn.

"Are you going to make it later today?" Merlin asked over the clinking of glass on glass.

"Yes, actually I was," Gaius said, a little surprised. "Why do you ask?"

Merlin shrugged. "I wanted to know if I could watch or help. I really would like to learn as much as possible."

Gaius gave the boy a toothy grin. "Of course, you are welcome," he replied. "It is always nice to see someone so eager to learn."

Merlin smiled, a genuine smile at last. Finally he would be well on his way to accomplishing something. Except, only Uther took that medicine … so how would he administer poison to that arrogant prat prince? Gaius was the key, Merlin decided. If he could get close to the physician, he could get anything done. The old man seemed to be in such a good mood that it made Merlin feel more than a little guilty. If he played his cards right, the lonely old man would give him everything.

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><p><strong>Please review and tell me what you think, your thoughts are always important. And how many of you saw the trailer for season 4? I am SO EXCITED there aren't even words. What did y'all think of that?<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**So sorry for the late update! I could give you the details of why it is so late, but that would be boring to me and probably to you, so I shall simply vow to do better in the future. Also, I went through and fixed some heinous spelling and grammar mistakes in the other chapters, if you want to reread those. Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

That night, Merlin and Morgana ate privately, claiming fatigue from the day's exertions. They dismissed the servant and sat in Morgana's room, planning their rescue mission. They had to rescue the man that night, but had not had time to plan their mission the during the day.

"We need to get him out of there," Morgana said, nervously playing with her silver spoon.

"Yes, but first we need a plan," Merlin said patiently, leaning back in his chair and picking up his wine goblet, running a finger around the rim.

"Why don't we just blast in there and blast out? We've got magic – they'd never have to know it was us," she suggested impatiently.

Merlin twisted his lips. "We can't do that. They'd be on to us in a moment, and then they'd have reason to kill or capture us. Sure we could escape easily and complete our mission, but there is no substitute for trust. Magic we can use if we must, but no blasting."

She glowered. "So how, then?"

"Well, I think I have a plan," Merlin said, doing an uncanny imitation of Morgana's smirk.

Morgana's face mirrored the warlock's and she leaned forward intently. "Do tell."

###

They slid silently along the corridor, dressed in tight black clothes. Merlin rolled his shoulders against the fabric, wishing he could have worn his normal attire. Morgana, on the other hand, was perfectly content in her outfit – she had planned them, claiming that they would appear more random if they dressed unlike they usually did. The warlock couldn't deny her logic and so had given in.

She peered around a corner and then crossed the hall to the other side, where they could walk in the shadows of the torches.

"How'd your meeting with Gaius go?" Morgana whispered suddenly.

Merlin jumped. "Gods Morgana! Don't do that!"

"Sorry," she said unapologetically. "So, how did it go?"

"It went pretty well. He's very trusting, and it's going to be no problem to worm my way into his confidence."

"How're you going to get the poison to Uther?" she asked, as he followed her around another corner and down a set of stairs.

"Let's just put it this way; we won't have to deal with that arrogant murderous bastard for much longer." He could practically feel her smile, but she held up a hand and didn't answer. Merlin heard the sound of raucous laughter from down the hall, and furrowed his brow trying to distinguish it.

"There's the entrance to the dungeons," she whispered, pointing to an archway further down the hall. The noises emanated from the doorway where two guards stood, clearly exhausted. They slumped against the wall, talking quietly to each other. "The guards at the front need to be put to sleep," Morgana breathed, allowing Merlin to join her.

He raised a hand towards the armored men and his eyes glittered gold. Within two minutes, both guards were snoring softly. They stepped lightly nonetheless as they passed between the guards and stood at the top of the stairway beyond them. The noises were coming from directly below them. The two sneaks looked over the rail beside them and saw a table at which sat three guards, a set of dice on the rough wood in front of them. A mostly-empty tankard sat beside them, and each held a goblet. They were making too much noise to be sober, and Morgana's lip curled in disgust.

"Them to," she whispered, and Merlin repeated the sleeping spell. They were all asleep in the space of ten seconds.

The two of them dashed down the stairs, careful not to make noise. The soft bottoms of their shoes padded against the pale stone of the steps, like they were cats. The inebriated men lolled grossly on their benches, snoring and twitching. It was truly grotesque.

Wrinkling their noses against the stench of alcohol, Merlin and Morgana moved into the tunnels where the cells were housed. "You go that way," Morgana said. "I'll go this way." She took the left hand tunnel.

Merlin nodded and inched along the passage, eyes peeled for more useless guards. He was a little shocked at the low quality of security, thinking that a witch or warlock that possessed his level of power could easily have gotten out had he or she been caught. It infuriated him, thinking that the ones that Uther killed had either given up, been harmless, or completely innocent. The cells he passed were empty for the most part. One held a skeleton, and another piles of stained cots.

There were no guards, and he gained confidence, running openly along the corridor but ready to duck into the shadows if necessary. Every single cell was empty of human life, though several had rather large populations of rats.

He turned and ran along the passage. Morgana was waiting for him at the tunnel juncture, the young man beside her. The cut on his forehead had scabbed over, but he was more filthy than ever before. His eyes were wide and dark in the flickering torchlight.

"I see you found him," Merlin said, glancing over at the still-sleeping guards.

"Anyone there?" Morgana asked, nodding back behind him.

"Just rats," Merlin responded. "Not even a guard."

"Excellent. Let's get out of here." The witch turned and went back up the stairs. Merlin followed, holding out a hand to the young man beside him.

"I'm Merlin," he said quietly as the other's dirty fingers wrapped around his thin ones.

"I'm James," the man replied.

"Nice to meet you." James nodded in reply, but said nothing. They reached the top of the staircase and Morgana stepped around the sleeping guards.

"They should sleep for another two hours if nobody disturbs them," she said when she saw the worried look on James's face. "If someone does disturb them, then we'll need to move fast."

The two young men nodded and followed her down the corridor and around the corner. The sound of footsteps echoed in front of them, and Morgana ducked into an alcove, pulling Merlin with her. He pressed himself into the corner and the witch backed up into him, making herself as small as possible. James stood beside Merlin, but didn't touch him. They were perfectly silent. Morgana even slowed her breathing.

The pair of guards passed them without turning their heads and rounded the corner. The instant they vanished, Morgana left the alcove and began down the passageway again, this time at a much faster pace. From behind them came the sound of speaking, then the clattering of armor as a guard dashed down the stairs.

"They found the guards," Morgana hissed. "They'll discover you're missing soon enough and then we'll be in trouble."

Merlin rubbed his fingers together, a plan forming in his head. "Morgana, we can't all be together. If they catch us, there will be serious problems."

"What should we do?" she asked, still moving quickly.

"Look, you take James down to the wall and let him out. I'll go the opposite direction and make a distraction to give you time to get away. I won't get caught, and at least we won't be together. We can claim ignorance of the other's actions if one is caught."

Morgana nodded. "I'll go down though to the main courtyard and get him out once the guards are distracted."

They came to a junction of corridors and he gestured to them. "Which way, Morgana?"

She closed her eyes, recalling her mental map. "You go that way," she said, pointing to the left. "It will take you up to the walkway above the courtyard. There's a set of stairs halfway along it that will take you deeper into the palace. Don't get caught."

"I'll try not to," Merlin replied. "Good luck."

He took off down the hallway she had pointed to, running like a wraith in the flickering shadows of the lit torches.

Merlin was passing a large set of doors that he had never seen before when the sound of raised voices caught his ear. He paused. They sounded suspiciously like Arthur and Uther, although he couldn't imagine why they would be shouting at each other like that. Unable to contain his curiosity, he stopped.

A small grated window was set high into the wall, and under it was a delicate-looking table with nothing on it but a small box. He was grateful it was there, despite the strangeness of the placement. Desperately hoping that it wouldn't break beneath his weight, he clambered up onto it and put his face against the grate.

Arthur stood across from a wide desk covered in papers. Behind the desk sat Uther, still dressed in full court regalia and slumped in his high-backed chair as though tired. The prince looked more than a little angry, and the king just looked irritable.

"But he has done nothing wrong, Father! There was no proof, just the word of a woman who is half-mad anyway!"

Merlin furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what they were talking about that would get the prince so worked up.

"We cannot risk dissent in our kingdom, Arthur! Can you imagine what would happen if even one magic-user got away from us?" The king was clearly used to these types of discussions and he put up with them even though he didn't like them.

"But father, he was well respected by his neighbors. Is there no trial here, no proof needed but an accusation? I think it highly unlikely that he would suddenly turn to magic. Even his business was doing well, especially following the death of his mother."

"Why do you think that is? People do not make such accusations lightly, especially not in my kingdom. They know the consequences." Arthur looked like he was about to start shouting again but Uther continued speaking before he had the chance. "And why do you think his business was doing so well? He is so young – do you really think he could be a better tailor than his mother and father, who had decades of experience? No, no, it must be magic. I will brook no further argument from you young man."

"Father-" Arthur began despite the king's last words, but Uther raised himself from his chair, standing to his full height and fixing his jaw in anger.

"I said there would be no further argument."

The prince ground his teeth and clenched his fists, but nodded.

"Good." Before the king could seat himself again, bells pealed out over the city, the warning bells that told of danger. The prince and king exchanged glances before heading for the door.

Suddenly, Merlin realized what was happening. Catching sight of an alcove across the hall, he leaped like a panther from the table into the dark. The door to Uther's chambers swung open and the two royals swept out. A guard hurried down the hallway and spoke quickly to the king before accompanying them out of sight.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Merlin slunk down the corridor, emerging into the open air corridor. A mix of knights and guards filled the courtyard, bustling about as they tried to get organized. Merlin spared half a second to scan for any sign of Morgana and James, but if they were there they had hidden themselves well.

Without any more ado, Merlin quickly cast a small glamour that would make him look like James, and then stepped forward, allowing bright light to flash from his hands. The display caught the attention of everyone down below him and they all looked up to where he stood, illuminated in the eerie magical light.

"There he is!" one guard shouted unnecessarily, pointing.

"After him!" called another and the armored men began to thunder as a group towards Merlin. He dashed along the hallway until he found the stairs Morgana had mentioned and cast one last look over his shoulder before hurrying up them.

####

Morgana and James padded along the deserted corridor. She was praying that they didn't get caught – it would be hell if they did, not to mention throwing off their entire plan and risking the mission. The castle at Camelot was intricate and full of helpful little nooks and crannies they could hide in, and so it was no surprise that they hadn't been caught yet. It would take an incredible amount of manpower to search the entire citadel.

Finally, her mental map told her that the next corner would take them into the courtyard. She could hear a massive amount of metal noise coming from outside. When she peered around the wall, she was shocked to discover how many people were in the courtyard, all of them trained knights of Camelot, or at least in training.

Pursing her lips, she ducked back around to James and leaned against the wall.

"What?" he asked in terror, eyes darting around nervously.

"Merlin hasn't created his distraction yet. We've got to wait and pray they don't come down here," she said, wishing she could give him more reassuring news.

"Great." James sounded sarcastic. There was silence for a moment. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I do appreciate this."

She nodded. "I don't want anyone to get hurt if they don't need to. And death is not a fitting punishment for your crime, assuming that you even committed what you have been charged of."

"I don't use magic," he said as though trying to absolve himself of even being thought of that way. Like had done something wrong despite the fact that he had done nothing.

Morgana shot him a look, glad that she hadn't used magic to open his cell door. If she had, he might easily have ended up turning her in as a magic user. Though she didn't believe he ought to die, he also was from Camelot and hatred of magic ran deep here. "Don't worry," she said instead. "I believe you."

Before she could continue, a bright light shone out over the courtyard, clearly magical. The guards began to shout and point, then thundered away like a herd of animals. Morgana peered around the corner again. Miraculously, the courtyard was empty.

The two of them crept across the stones towards the gate, keeping close to the wall. James was practically shaking he was so scared, but Morgana felt icy calm. She knew that she would save the young man, and she would do whatever it took to save him.

They reached the gate, and she took hold of his arm. "Leave this place," she told him seriously. "Don't ever come back. It's not safe for you – it never will be."

He nodded. "Thank you, I don't know-"

"Who's there?" came a slurring voice, and a knight poked his head out from the gatehouse. His breath reeked of sleep, and he rubbed his blurry eyes as he squinted at them, trying to make them out. "What're you doin' out here?"

The guard made his way out of the little room and stepped closer to them. Morgana hoped he would go away, but would not risk using magic in front of someone as ephemeral as James might turn out to be. "It's fine, sir," she replied, trying to get him to go away.

"Who's that with you?" he asked, moving forward again. He looked at them intently, and sudden understanding bloomed in his eyes. "Hey, you're the man-"

He choked and moved one hand to his throat. It came away slick and red with blood, and he crumpled to the ground, eyes losing life and rolling back into his skull.

"Go!" Morgana said furiously, her fingers gripping the handle of her knife tightly. James gave her a look of horror and then sprinted away, into the dark streets of the city.

Closing her eyes against the sight of blood spreading out along the white flagstones, Morgana cast an invisibility spell over herself and turned to her room. Thoughts of Merlin raced through her head and she hoped with all her heart that he hadn't been caught.

With trembling hands she pushed his door open. Relief flooded through her at the sight of the warlock sitting at his table, dressed in his pyjamas, a wine goblet in his hand. When he saw her, he stood up, abandoning his drink on the table.

"Thank the gods you're safe," she breathed, closing the door behind her and hurrying to his side.

"Did he escape?" Merlin asked, gently taking her hand.

"Yes. Now we just have to hope that we can complete our mission in peace," Morgana said.

They talked for another minute before the witch returned to her room.

She spent ten minutes debating in her head whether what she had done that night was entirely correct. While it is true that leaders shape and subjects follow in those patterns, she could not ignore the fact that magic was terrifying to most of the residents of Camelot. The man she had saved tonight, James, clearly was not supportive of her cause, but he had been sentanced to death for what he had not done. He certainly did not deserve to die, but was it hindering her cause to spend her time saving those who would not support her in the long run? She shook her head and slid her nightgown on. This type of thought was useless. It would do her no good to get trapped in the past. She must look to the future. So she focused her mind once more solely on killing the king.

Once she had left him, Merlin took his seat again, sipping the wine he'd left on his table. Arthur's words ran through his head, the scene replaying itself in his mind's eye. He didn't know what to make of it, but he knew that it could not be ignored.

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><p><strong>I hope you liked it! Please review if you are still reading!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**I love you guys a lot. The outpouring of support this story has received and continues to receive astounds me. And, a little disappointing to all of us, but school has started and so updates will become less frequent probably. That probably is there because I cannot tell the future and they may become more frequent as I struggle to procrastinate.**

**To _Goblet_: Thank you for reviewing, it really means a lot. I was thinking about bringing the Great Dragon in, but still am not sure. I guess we will both have to wait and see. :)**

**To (): Thank you so much for reviewing; it means a lot to me. And yes, it will be Mergana in the future - I can FINALLY confirm that.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

Two weeks later the man still had not been caught and the search had been all but given up. Merlin had watched the prince carefully in the days following the escape. Arthur had not seemed displeased that James had escaped, though he behaved like he was when he was around his father. Merlin had expected Morgana to be elated by their success, but she barely spoke of it and didn't seem interested when Merlin brought it up. So he reverted back to their old way of just discussing the impending poisoning.

By the end of the fortnight Merlin had gained Gaius's trust and was allowed to make some simple remedies by himself. Gaius was still searching for a cure for Uther's back pain, which was the crux of Merlin and Morgana's plan. Of course, the pain itself was not entirely natural. Any number of Gaius's cures would have fixed it, but Morgana's special abilities kept it lingering. The physician was looking in ever more obscure books and scrolls for a remedy.

In the night, Merlin had examined scrolls by himself and mixed several different types of poisons that would be chemically and symptomatically invisible from the plants that Gaius was using in Uther's remedies. A small box was magically concealed in a dark corner of his room, where nobody could find it without the use of powerful magic.

Nimueh, however, was growing impatient. She had contacted them multiple times to find out what was taking them so long. Though both Merlin and Morgana had told her that they were doing their best, they could sense her irritation with them, and had promised to complete their missions as swiftly as possible given the circumstances. The raven haired woman had rolled her eyes and vanished from the mirror, her ruby red libs pursed, her eyes glowing.

"We need to get this done," Morgana said the instant their mentor disappeared. "It cannot be put off any longer."

"I need to find a way to poison Arthur," Merlin protested, trying to push doubt from his mind.

Morgana turned her flashing gray eyes on the boy. "Sit next to him at lunch or dinner and poison him then. Use magic to hide your action, or just be sneaky. I don't care how it gets done as long as it does get done." The warlock averted his eyes and ran a finger across the top of the vanity table. Taking that action for assent, Morgana turned away from him, long hair spinning out behind her. She was almost to the door of Merlin's room when he finally spoke, his conscious getting the better of him.

"What if it's not the right thing to do?" he asked.

The witch froze with one hand on the door handle. "What?"

Merlin's voice gained confidence and he turned to face Morgana's still back. "I mean, with killing Arthur. Uther is undeniably evil and set in his ways, but the prince is not. He does not seem so against magic. Perhaps he would be a better ruler than his father. A kinder, wiser ruler. Nimueh doesn't know this. Maybe we should-"

Morgana's heels' clicked across the floor to him. "We do not owe him anything," she spat. "It is because of _his_ birth that Uther murders our kin, he's done his best to wipe us from existence. And this boy, his son, has done nothing to prevent this from happening."

"He is just ignorant, not hateful," Merlin protested. "If he were educated – if he knew the truth-"

"Enough, Merlin," she snapped, holding up one pale long-fingered hand. "We will go through with the plan. Tonight."

Merlin looked away, battling with himself. Finally, he said "Okay."

Morgana let out her breath. "Good."

"I'd better get started on mixing the poisons," Merlin told her, and she nodded. "But how will it not be suspicious that they both die at once?" he asked.

She froze again, thinking. "Is there a poison that will make him very sick for a few days before killing him?" she asked.

"Yes," Merlin replied reluctantly. "I can mix one like that, but Gaius will probably recognize it."

"Then magic him so he doesn't."

Merlin sighed. Morgana thought magic was the answer to everything, but he disagreed. She was almost like Uther, too set in her ways. But she was his friend, and he believed that she wanted only to do good. He sighed. This was why Merlin had never wanted to leave the Isles of the Blessed. It was all too complicated. Still sighing, Merlin got up to begin his work.

####

That afternoon, Merlin stood in Gaius's workshop, crushing leaves into powder for use in medicines later. He had everything planned out perfectly. The scroll was up his sleeve – he would pretend that it had been hidden in his library. It contained a cure for back pain that was, as far as Merlin could tell, completely legitimate. However, it also would hide his poison of choice perfectly, which made it the ideal candidate for his particular use.

"I need to find something for Uther's back," Gaius said a little distractedly. "Nothing has been working. It's very confusing."

Merlin took a silent breath, then slid the scroll into his hand. "I'm glad you mentioned that," he said, turning around. "I found this in the library last night and meant to show it to you. It might help with Uther's back." He held the scroll out to Gaius.

The physician took it from him and unrolled it, scanning the recipe. "It looks fairly simple, and I don't see any problem with trying it."

Merlin smiled. "I looked it over, and it seems to be easy enough. Do you think I could make it?" he asked hopefully.

Gaius gave him a critical look and frowned slightly. Then he smiled as well. "I don't see any problem with that either. I don't feel quite comfortable with you working alone though, so I hope you don't mind if I watch while I work. Just to supervise – nothing personal."

"That certainly won't be a problem, Gaius." Merlin turned around and began to clear a spot on the table, then changed his mind and moved to the other side so that it wouldn't seem like he was hiding anything. The last thing he needed was suspicion on him.

He mixed the drug carefully, behaving as though he had never done it before. By the time they were summoned to dinner with the King in the council chambers it was almost complete.

"I'll just leave it here to sit while we eat. Is that okay, Gaius?" Merlin asked, taking his spoon out of the rapidly thinning mixture and looking into the beaker at it. "It ought to be ready after dinner and at the time that Uther regularly takes his medicine."

Gaius nodded. "Just don't be late. We don't want it to evaporate or something. Then you'd have to make it all again."

"Of course not," the warlock responded, looking at the liquid. It was a light green in color, and was supposed to be closer to a dark green. Of course, it also had to sit for an hour and a half before being heated gently for twenty minutes and drunk.

As they left the little room and shut the door, Gaius turned to Merlin. "You did it so well I would have thought you'd done it before."

Merlin almost tripped, fumbling his step and catching himself just in time. "What do you mean?"

The physician set off along the corridor and down the stairs, the warlock following close behind and trying to conceal the worry on his face. "Well, I know that you've never done that before, and I have been very impressed with how quickly you picked everything up. You are not the first student I have ever had, although you are the first in many years, yet you are by far the brightest I have ever taught. A little oblivious at times maybe, but certainly not stupid."

Merlin breathed a silent sigh of relief and made small talk all the way to dinner. They were the last to enter the hall, and Morgana cast him a glance as he took his seat across from her. Arthur sat to Merlin's left, Uther at the head of the table, and Sir Leon to the king's left. Gaius took his seat on Morgana's left and the servants moved forward to begin the meal.

"How was your day, Lord Merlin?" Sir Leon asked as he served himself food from the platters spread before them.

"It was good. Wonderful, actually," Merlin replied. "How was yours? Lots of training, I should think."

Leon laughed. "Yes, indeed. There were a couple of reports of bandits but other than that things were fairly quiet."

Merlin laughed politely, but made no more effort than that. An awkward silence settled over the table for a couple of seconds before Gaius broke it.

"Prince Arthur, how is Sir Harry doing? I have not heard from him for a while. I trust his leg is healing up nicely?"

Arthur grinned. "Yes, actually. He's doing very well." The prince gestured to Sir Leon. "In fact, he was having a great time today. Do you recall what he was doing?"

The other knight grinned as well. "I believe he was playing a trick on Sir Pelinor, sir, that involved some sort of rubber sword and a duck. At least, that's the part of it that I saw!"

Merlin lost track of the conversation at that point because Morgana kicked his shin and he was distracted with trying not to cry out in pain. Her shoes were hard, and way sharper than they looked. Tears of pain welled in his eyes and his mouth twisted. When he finally managed to regain what little composure he could, he looked at Morgana.

She was appearing interested in the conversation, but he could tell by the way she fidgeted with her fingers that she was impatiently waiting for him to look up again. When he did, she nudged him with her foot, gently this time. He raised an eyebrow to let her know he was paying attention. She rolled her eyes at Arthur's food and gestured surreptitiously with a finger.

He knew that she was telling him to poison Arthur, and that she expected him to do so during this meal. This was not entirely unexpected and so he had prepared for it in advance. The ring on his left middle finger had a secret compartment in which he had stored a powder taken from his chest of poisons. It was easily opened using unobtrusive magic, which was how he intended to open it.

The witch gave him another significant glance, and he sighed internally. She certainly was persistent, he could give her that. Rolling his eyes, he reached across Arthur's plate to get to a dish on the other side of the prince. Ordinarily, that would be considered rude, but Arthur was wrapped up in his story and nobody save Morgana noticed.

On his hand's way back across Arthur's plate, Merlin focused all his energy and felt magic flow from him, opening the little compartment. A thin film of powder streamed from the ring into Arthur's food, disappearing on contact.

Morgana relaxed slightly, and Merlin served himself the broccoli on the plate he'd retrieved even though he didn't really want it.

Arthur finished his story and everyone laughed uproariously at the errant knight's behavior towards his fellow. The prince picked his fork up again and speared a lettuce leaf, hesitating for a moment before putting it in his mouth.

Over the course of the meal, Merlin watched Arthur consume every single speck of the powder, feeling numb inside. He didn't know if what he had done was right, and he hoped with all his soul that he'd made the correct choice. His face betrayed none of his feelings, and he participated in the meal as he always did, except perhaps not speaking as much as normal. Everyone else was so jovial, it seemed that they didn't notice him.

Morgana, on the other hand, was so elated she could have floated off. It was with a sort of satisfaction that she watched Arthur eat his food, each bit bringing him closer to his death. She would have to speak with Merlin that evening and ask him what exactly to expect.

The meal ended, and Merlin and Gaius excused themselves, claiming pressing things to do in the physicians room. Arthur offered his arm to Morgana and offered to show her the view of the city from the top of the battlements. She accepted and they both took their leave of their companions. She knew that she had to keep up the pretense only for a little longer.

####

Merlin quickly poured the liquid into a small decanter, shaking it slightly and holding it up to the candle to make sure that it was the proper color. Gaius joined him, watching the liquid slosh around.

"It looks wonderful. I'm very proud of you, Merlin."

Merlin smiled. "If you don't mind, I'll clean up here, run this up to Uther, and then retire. It's been a long day, sir."

Gaius clapped Merlin on the shoulder and gave the young warlock a fatherly grin. "It's only right that you deliver it to Uther yourself. You deserve to be proud of yourself Merlin. You did very well today, and deserve a rest."

"Thank you Gaius." Merlin quickly organized his table and returned his ingredients to their proper places in the still-messy room. Despite his many attempts to make it look more like an office, it remained untidy. Everything had a place and neither of them had trouble finding things, but it was not clean looking.

Merlin slid the last bunch of herbs onto their shelf and looked around. His area was clean, and Gaius was organizing his. He picked up the little glass bottle and headed to the door. "I'm taking off now Gaius."

"Good night!" the old man called over his shoulder.

"Good night," Merlin returned as he closed the door behind him.

During his walk own the stairs, across the courtyard, and back into the palace, Merlin contemplated how he would get the poison into the bottle. Stopping would draw attention if someone, like a guard, noticed him. It was too dangerous to do it while walking, and so he decided to visit the restrooms. They weren't too far out of his way, and gave him a valid excuse. It would have been better if his room was on the way, but it was in an entirely different direction and would have aroused too much suspicion.

So he made his way down a little side corridor and went into the dingy bathroom that passed for something sanitary. Locking the door, Merlin grimaced at the stench that rose from the little wooden seat. He quickly pulled a small bottle of clear liquid from his pocket and uncorked it with his teeth, spitting the cork down the foul toilet. Again, with his teeth, he uncorked the bottle of cure. Careful not to spill a single drop, he turned the little bottle upside down over the bigger one and waited for the liquid to drain out.

Once the bottle was empty, he threw it down the toilet after its cork. He capped the large bottle and shook it hastily before holding it up to the spluttering candle that was all the light offered to the drab room. It looked exactly the same as before, and, sighing with relief, he left the little room. He had no trouble getting past the guard at Uther's door; he just said that he had medicine from Gaius and the doors opened like he had used magic.

Uther's chambers were silent and almost as gloomy as the bathroom, if much cleaner. The king himself sat at his desk, poring over sheafs of paper and looking very tired.

"Sire," Merlin said, approaching slowly.

"Ah, Lord Merlin," the king replied, putting down his papers. "What can I help you with?"

"Nothing, sire. I just came to deliver this remedy from Gaius. For your back. He hopes it will work this time."

"Thank you," Uther said, taking the proffered bottle and looking at the liquid inside it. "And how have your studies been going?"

"Well, sire. I have been learning much from Gaius."

"Yes, he certainly is very knowledgeable."

"Yes sire." Merlin nodded and backed up a step, trying to get away as soon as possible. The situation was incredibly uncomfortable. "Gaius says to drink that right before you go to sleep."

"Thank you," Uther replied, smiling at Merlin and picking up the papers again.

"Good night sire," Merlin said, leaving without waiting for an answer. He nodded at the guard and made his way back to his room. He felt no regret, like he thought he would. Instead he felt relief that this would all soon be over.

"Did you do it?" Morgana hissed out of the darkness the instant he opened his door.

Merlin jumped in surprise, almost banging into the wall. "Morgana!"

The witch stood up and moved towards him, waving her hand at an unlit torch on the wall. It burst into flame, lighting up the room with a flickering glow. It made her look eerie and otherworldly, and more than a little spooky. "Did you do it?"

"Yes," Merlin said, crossing the room to his closet and pulling out his pyjamas. "I did."

"Did you see him drink it?" she persisted, following him across the room.

"No," Merlin began, but Morgana cut him off.

"What do you mean? How can you be sure he will drink it?"

"Uther is a creature of habit. He will drink it Morgana, I swear."

####

Uther stretched, working out the kinks in his back from sitting hunched over so long. There would always be more papers for him to look over, but now sleep was calling him. He changed into his pyjamas and gave one last look over his desk. The little bottle of liquid still sat there, and with a small smile, he picked it up.

It was nice how Gaius looked after him, he thought as he rolled it between his fingers. The physician had been trying for weeks to cure him of his pain. He never gave up. With one swift motion, the king uncorked the bottle and swallowed the contents in a single gulp.

Replacing the little bottle on the table, Uther slid under his covers and settled down to sleep.

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><p><strong>Oooohhhhh - Uther drank the poison! Will he die? Will he live? Did Merlin really poison the royals? What would Morgana do if he hadn't? Who will live? Who will die? Who will be betrayed and what revenge will be taken? Tell me what you think!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't have words for how sorry I am about the wait. But hopefully now that I'm settled into my new life (and I passed all my midterms!), I will get better at updating and writing. To all those who reviewed - I love you endless amounts. Please forgive me for my updating lapse.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

"Good morning, sire," Morgana said brightly as she entered the hall.

"You look awfully happy this morning, Lady Morgana," Arthur replied, looking up from his papers.

"Do I?" She smiled at him. "I can't imagine why."

"Hmm." Arthur returned to his papers, looking distracted and completely unconcerned with Morgana's mood.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, assuming a concerned expression.

"Not really," he said, shaking his head. "It's just that my father should be here by now. He never sleeps this late."

Morgana looked over his shoulder at the papers he was holding. "I'm sure he just lost track of time or is doing equally important king things. What are you looking at?"

"Reports of a monster harrying the outer villages. It could easily be a bunch of scared village people telling stories, but it may be more. I was going to send out a squad of knights to look it over, just in case, but I'm waiting for my father's approval."

"If you think that's what you should do," Morgana said, moving around the table to sit down. "Do you have any other plans for today?"

"There's just training. Would you care to join us?" The prince gave her a look and arched an eyebrow.

"Sure." Morgana stood up again, realizing how nervous she looked the instant she was on her feet. "I should go check on Merlin," she said by way of excuse. "He ought to be down here too."

As she left the door, a guard rushed past her and she paused, hiding around the corner to eavesdrop. Perhaps it was news of the king.

"Sire!" the guard gasped, sliding to a halt in front of Arthur.

"Yes?"

"Sire, your father..."

Instantly, Arthur was standing. "What happened? Tell me!"

"Your father, he isn't breathing..." The guard tried to regain his breath. Arthur's face went from worried to downright terrified – the change was incredible.

"Get Gaius!" he shouted to the guard, already at the door.

"Yes sire," the guard said, picking up his weary feet and dashing away.

Morgana tucked herself more tightly into the corner, grateful that she had chosen to wear a dark dress that day. Arthur rushed by without even noticing her, and she smirked. Withdrawing herself from her corner, she went to find Merlin. Far be it from her to put either of them under suspicion by not being where she was supposed to be.

Merlin's door was locked, and she opened it with a whispered word, locking it again behind her. The warlock was sitting at his table, looking more than a little tired.

"You did it!" she said quietly, hurrying over to his side.

"Did you think I lied?" he asked, rubbing one hand over his face.

"I believed you. Now we just have to wait for Arthur to die."

She sounded so eager it made him sick. But he had to play along, and so plastered a false look of excitement on his face. "Yes."

"How long should it be before the poison kicks in?" she asked, pacing back and forth across the floor, her heels clicking against the stone.

"About two days. It's going to attack his body and replicate the symptoms of a fever."

"That's good," she replied.

"Should we go?" Merlin asked, dying to get away from the anxiously excited girl for a little and deal with the drama that was unfolding elsewhere in the castle.

"Yes, of course. Just get dressed, and we'll leave."

Merlin picked up his clothes and dressed quickly behind the screen in the corner. In a minute, he'd combed his hair, and was moving towards the door. "Morgana," he said, turning around and almost running into her.

"Yes?"

"You need to calm down. If you go out there like that, they'll notice that something's up, and we will be caught for sure. Don't let this get to you. You are the Lady Morgana, political refugee. No more than that."

"Yes, of course. You are right." Morgana took a couple deep breaths and smoothed her face into a pleasant, but bored, expression. Just like she was a pampered nobleman's daughter instead of an assassin sent to murder the king.

"Wonderful," Merlin said. Strangely enough, while Morgana was excited, he was completely emotionless.

"Let's go."

They made their way down the stairs outside their rooms and into the main part of the castle. A guard pushed past them, Gaius right behind him carrying a small bag.

"Good morning Gaius," Merlin said as though he had no idea what was going on.

"Can't talk now Merlin. Come with me."

Merlin shot Morgana a look and they both hurried away after the physician, despite Morgana's lack of an invitation. As expected, they were led to the king's chambers where the door stood open, guards outside. Arthur and yet more guards were inside, but only the prince sat on the bed beside the king. Uther lay there, his eyes shut and mouth closed. If Merlin hadn't known better, he would have thought the king simply to be sleeping.

"What's the matter?" Gaius asked, rushing over to Arthur's side. Merlin followed, worry creasing his forehead.

Morgana gave a very convincing gasp and froze halfway across the floor. "Is he...? Oh gods."

"Sire, could you move?" Gaius asked, and Arthur slid off the bed and stepped back.

Merlin joined the physician at the king's bedside, and Morgana moved up to stand beside Arthur. The prince chewed nervously at his fingernails, his eyes worried.

Gaius bent over the king and Merlin folded the blankets back to allow easier access to the king's body. Two fingers were pressed against the king's throat, then the inside of his wrist. Merlin watched anxiously, hoping that the king had died as planned. Despite his assurances to Morgana, the warlock was still anxious that he would fail somehow.

He snapped back to the present when Gaius sat back and stood up. Arthur reached for his father, but Morgana grabbed his arm and held it against her, effectively preventing him from moving. Seeming unwilling to yank away from her, the prince froze.

"Gaius?" he asked, panic rising in his voice. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm afraid... he's dead." Gaius's voice was soft.

"Can't you do something?" Arthur asked frantically.

"No. Judging by the temperature of his body, he's been dead for about six or seven hours."

"How did he die? Was he poisoned? Stabbed? Was it natural?"

"I don't know," Gaius said.

Arthur's voice went hard. "I need you to determine how he died."

The physician bowed. "As you wish, sire. But you are king now."

The prince froze. "I guess I am. Right now I need to focus on finding out what happened to my father."

"Sire, it could well have been natural. Your father was a hardworking man with a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. It may simply be that the stress got to him."

Morgana loosened her hold on Arthur's arm, and he looked around. "Who was the last person to see him last night?"

Merlin knew that lying would do him no good, and it would soon be discovered that he had been the one to deliver Uther's medicine. Besides, all the tests he had run proved that if Gaius tested the contents of the vial, there would be no trace of the poison left to find.

"I was, I believe," he said, stepping forward.

"Why?" Arthur asked, his eyes as hard as his voice. "What possible reason could you have for being in my father's chambers?"

"I was delivering his medicine," Merlin explained. "He seemed fine then."

Arthur looked to one side, like he was trying to think something over. "I don't want to have to do this. You're my friend and I don't believe you would kill my father, but until his cause of death is confirmed, you will be kept in the dungeons."

Morgana's eyes widened and she moved between Arthur and Merlin, as though to protect the warlock. "What is this nonsense, Arthur? Merlin has done nothing wrong, and he cannot be punished for a crime he did not commit."

Merlin put a hand on her shoulder. He could feel her tensing up, adrenaline coursing through her veins at the thought of losing him. "Morgana. I am innocent, and the evidence will prove that. The bottle that the medicine was in is there, on his bedside table. Do whatever you want with it."

Arthur nodded to Gaius, and the old man picked up the glass vial, sliding it carefully into his bag. "Very well. Guards, take him away."

Morgana was pushed gently aside by the two knights, who shot Merlin apologetic looks before taking hold of his elbows and leading him away. They took him to the dungeons, where he had been barely two weeks before. They did not know that though, he reminded himself.

The cell he was put in was nicer than those he had seen before. This one had fresh straw on the floor, a relatively large window, and a clean mattress on a little frame. He was let in and the guards apologized to him as they locked the door. He knew many of them, though none well, just by sight.

The door clanged shut and he settled himself on the cot. He did not expect his incarceration was going to last too long.

####

Morgana sat on the bench across from where Gaius stood. Arthur had made it a priority that the bottle be tested for poison and the king's cause of death confirmed. The prince clearly did not want Merlin to be responsible for the death of the king, but he would rule out no possibility.

The physician shot Morgana a look. "My lady, this will take a while, possibly hours. I'm not sure that this is the most constructive use of your time."

She twisted her lips and played with a lock of her hair. "I'm just worried about Merlin. I'm certain that he has done nothing wrong, but still..." she trailed off, playing the part of concerned friend well. In truth she had complete faith in Merlin's abilities and the fact that he would get off.

"I don't think he poisoned the king, but I will certainly do my job," Gaius said for the sake of conversation. Morgana merely nodded. They sat in silence for another minute or two.

A knock on the door startled them out of their quiet, and a knight poked his head in. "Lady Morgana, Prince Arthur would like to see you in his chambers."

Morgana nodded and followed him from the room, offering no goodbye to Gaius as she left. Arthur stood in the window of his chambers, avoiding looking at the piles of papers on his desk. When Morgana arrived, she waited for a moment for him to recognize her, then cleared her throat softly. He turned, looking more careworn and haggard than she had ever seen anyone look, even Uther.

"My lady," he said, stepping towards her. "I wished to speak with you."

She nodded cooly, wondering if his appearance was a side effect of the poison Merlin had administered to him. "Yes, sire."

"I wanted to apologize for what is happening with Merlin. I like him and do not believe that he would kill my father, but I cannot rule anything out yet."

Despite the fact that Morgana in fact didn't care for the prince's emotions, she smiled gently and moved closer to put her hand on his arm. "It's okay. I understand your need to know the truth about your father's death. It's far more likely that he died of stress than of poison."

"My father has lots of enemies, Morgana. Enemies who would kill him in a heartbeat."

She sighed. "I can't imagine why. He was very kind to Merlin and I, taking us in like that when we had no place else to go." She went to pull her hand away, but was startled when something warm covered it.

Arthur wrapped his strong fingers around hers and looked at her intently. After a moment, she removed her eyes from their hands and looked up into his piercing blue ones. He let out a long, slow breath. The witch had entirely no idea how to respond, so rather than potentially offending the prince, stayed still. Their proximity was mildly disgusting to her, but she focused instead on keeping herself under strict control.

"Sire," she said. "I am very sorry for your loss and wish to help in whatever way I can."

"Thank you," he replied, but his grip on her hand didn't lessen.

Finally, she tugged gently at her fingers and he released them. She backed away, saying, "I should return to my chambers. It has been a long day."

He nodded. "Goodnight Morgana."

"Goodnight, sire." With that, she turned and fled the room, shutting the door to her own chambers with a hollow thud. What had that been about? And that look, in his eyes. It was revolting and sappy and looked too much like affection. She shuddered. In two days he would be dead, and she would be free of him.

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><p><strong>The next chapter will be up within a week. I make no promises on the day, but by the time I publish chapter 8 I will have come up with a schedule for myself and will attempt to keep to that. Please review and tell me what you think!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay so it's only been... like two and a half years? I literally cannot tell you how sorry I am that this took so long. I could tell you that my life got turned upside down three or four times. (I could tell you about it, but I don't know if you care.) On the bright side it is now back where it is supposed to be and I am pretty sure it will stay there! And with that I hope you enjoy this very belated chapter!**

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

By the next morning, Arthur was severely sick. His temperature had elevated and he couldn't keep food down. At the same time, Gaius had decided that the king's medicine had not been poisoned and Arthur, despite his illness, had ordered that Merlin be released from the dungeon.

Morgana stood by the prince's bed as the physician relayed the news about Uther's cause of death. "His heart simply gave out, sire, probably as a result of stress," the old man said, stooping to lay a hand on the prince's forehead.

"He worked himself to death," Arthur croaked out, breaking into a coughing fit.

"Please be quiet sire. You don't want to aggravate the disease," Gaius told him, rummaging in his bags for a small bottle of green liquid. "Drink this, it will help your fever. Try to get some sleep." He stood up to leave the room, carrying his satchel. Morgana followed him, grateful that the first leg of their plan was going as planned.

"Wait, Morgana," Arthur said and she paused in her exit, turning back towards the man on the bed. The memory of the night before was still strong in her mind.

"You heard Gaius. You must try not to speak."

The prince nodded and uncapped the bottle, raising it to his lips. His adam's apple bobbed and the bottle was placed gently on the table by his bed. "You must be glad that Merlin is absolved of all guilt."

She nodded. "But I never expected him to be found guilty, my lord. I had faith in him."

The prince grinned, already drifting off into sleep. His eyelids drooped despite his obvious struggle to keep them open. "You're so loyal. It's one of the traits tha... that I …. admire about you."

She arched an eyebrow as his eyes finally closed. "Thank you sire. I will leave you to sleep."

The blonde man nodded, a smile still resting gently on his lips. "So kind," he mumbled before dropping off.

Morgana fled, her tall shoes clicking on the stone of the floor. She hurried up the stairs to her room and shut the door. Merlin sat in her window seat, looking down at the courtyard. He didn't even look around when she entered. "How is our prince this morning?" he asked her, rocking back onto two legs.

"He's sick." The witch paused. She'd always talked to Merlin about everything, at least since Morgause left. Finally making up her mind, she opened her mouth again. "He seems, different."

"Different how?" Merlin still didn't turn around.

"He's behaving towards me strangely. Like last night, he grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes and today he said he admired me. Is that normal?" Morgana's mind was attempting to put the pieces together, but she was failing somehow, missing a piece that ought to be there.

Merlin pressed his lips together. He hadn't dared to turn around before because he feared that his guilt would show in his face, but now his entire body seemed to turn to ice. The thought that Arthur had been flirting with Morgana affected him in an entirely unprecedented way. That the blonde prince could have _feelings _for the black-haired minx ignited in him an anger unfathomable to him before. Suddenly he wished with all his heart that the prince would die. It took all his self-control to keep himself from storming into Arthur's chambers and throttling him with his bare hands. And yet, the reasons for this anger were beyond his grasp. Perhaps it was because Morgana was his foster sister and he simply felt protective of her. Yes, he decided before his mind moved on to other, more complex solutions, that must be it. But the anger didn't lessen with this revelation. In fact, it seemed to grow.

For half a second, he struggled to control himself, then he forced a laugh, landed the chair legs on the floor, and stood up to face Morgana.

"He likes you Morgana, like in a romantic way."

"What?" she gasped in furious disbelief. "He can't-"

The warlock arched an eyebrow. "He does."

Morgana set her jaw and pushed the vile notion from her mind. "It doesn't matter. He will be dead soon and we need to contact Nimueh. The king is dead, you are free, and the prince is dying. It is time for her to know that we have accomplished at least part of our mission."

Merlin nodded shortly, anger still roaring in his chest, and followed her to her vanity table, where she breathed on the glass, then spoke several words into the mist. The fog lifted, and the glassy surface seemed clearer than before. The image of Nimueh floated into focus, her eyes cold and implacable as always.

"Has there been any progress?" she asked, her voice warmly at odds with her eyes.

"Yes, Nimueh. The king is dead," Morgana said, cutting Merlin off before he ever got the chance to speak.

"That's good," she said, her eyes lighting up with an icy excitement. "And the prince? He shall die soon, I hope."

"He is already sickening. It will only be a couple of days before he dies, and we can watch the kingdom begin to descend into chaos."

"Be careful, my dear," Nimueh told her, noting the girl's rising levels of excitement. "If you act too early you may risk the entire mission on suspicion, and if you act too late you may not be able to control the violence. It is a fine line to walk."

"Won't you help us?" Morgana asked, suddenly just the little bit trepidations about their future.

Nimueh shook her head. "No. I must make some preparations and so will not be available to help you for at least three weeks. Don't fear, Morgana. I feel sure that you and Merlin are completely able to succeed in this endeavor. Your names will be remembered forever."

Morgana nodded, her face resuming its set expression. She believed that she could do it – she needed to do it. Failure was not an option for her.

"Well, I must go, my dears. There is much to do," Nimueh said, but before she could vanish completely, Merlin leaned forward and put his face beside Morgana's. His blue eyes met Nimueh's equally blue ones and she found she couldn't look away.

"What are you going to do, Nimueh?" he asked quietly. "Why won't you be available?"

"It's just some business that I have to take care of before Camelot's takeover is complete. Don't worry about me, just focus on what has been charged to you." Nimueh looked sharply at him, and he could see that she was wondering why he had insisted on knowing what she was doing. In an attempt to avert her suspicions, he nodded and looked away.

"I will not let Camelot fall into other's hands. It will become ours," he said, trying hard to sound sincere. When he looked up again, the suspicion had left her face, and she was smiling graciously at her dark-haired wards.

"I have faith in you. Thus far, you have succeeded admirably. Now, be wary. Once the prince is out of your way there will still be nobles to navigate through, ones who would do anything to get their hands on the throne of Camelot. Do not let them beat you. Use whatever means necessary to win this fight."

Morgana nodded back at the priestess. "We will be successful. Good luck with your tasks, Nimueh. We will see you when we rule Camelot."

"Good," was Nimueh's only reply before disappearing from the mirror. After a moment, the edges of the mirror faded back into cloudiness, no longer smoothed by the magic of their communication spell.

"Everything is going wonderfully," Morgana said, turning from the vanity to face Merlin behind her. His hair was rumpled but his eyes marvelously clear. He looked like he was deep in thought about something she was not privy to, and she frowned internally. "What're you thinking about?" she asked.

"Morgana, is this the right thing to do?" he asked her suddenly, turning his blue eyes upon her gray ones, peering into her soul. She looked away uncomfortably.

"Yes. Uther is dead. He can harm no more of our kin. Soon magic will flow through this land again and it will return to the prosperity of its glory days, when all were treated as equal no matter the depth of their natural talents. With Arthur dead the way will be paved for us to restore true freedom."

Merlin nodded and blinked. At the sound of the black-haired witch uttering the prince's name the anger in his chest had flared, but he pushed it away. Morgana returned her eyes to him.

"Hmm," he rumbled, deep in his throat.

"Why do you ask?" she said curiously.

"I've been thinking a lot lately, about what the right thing to do is. Should I simply do what I have been told to do or think my own thoughts about what is happening. Do you not believe that Nimueh could be mistaken in her ideas? After all, she spent so much time with us on the Isles of the Blessed, I cannot see how she could possibly know what everything out here is like."

Morgana's eyes blazed and she shot to her feet. Nimueh had taught her everything she knew, saved her and Merlin and Morgause from certain death as babies and he was attempting to disregard her works! It was outrageous. "Do not speak like that. Nimueh as access to powers that we cannot even conceive of. Do you really believe that she would risk us like this if it was not for a worthy cause? I cannot believe that you would turn on her now."

Merlin nodded. "She is indeed powerful, but I will not trust her completely. After what I have seen and heard here, I believe that she may have been mistaken about Arthur. He is not a bad man, all the evidence points to the makings of a great king, a man who can bring back equality without having to murder to do so."

"Arthur is just like his father. And if you think he will spare you because you did what you thought was right, you are a fool," Morgana spat, her anger getting the better of her. "He is evil and will destroy magic if he can. You would willingly watch your kinsmen die by the hand of a king you defended? You would stand by his side?"

Merlin's eyes flashed gold and a piece of paper on the desk to their left crumpled into a ball. His emotions were messing with his magic. "I do not blindly do what I am told to do. Arthur is a good man, a good prince, and he will be a great king. All that he requires is guidance."

Morgana looked at him coldly, anger knifing through her and turning her heart to ice. "He is dying now. You have killed him already. You do not have a choice in this anymore."

"I did not kill him," Merlin said quietly.

There were two long seconds of silence.

"What?" she responded, her voice dangerously soft.

"I didn't poison Arthur," Merlin repeated, a little louder. "I don't believe he ought to die."

"Why didn't you follow the plan?!"

"Because I believe Nimueh was wrong!" he told her. "She has manipulated and lied to us from when we were but children, and that's what she's doing to you now. Arthur does not not hold the same opinions as his father, and with the right guidance he will be a great king. He is simply ignorant, not evil."

He thought steam might come pouring out of her ears at any moment. Her face had become a mask of rage, her eyes shards of flinty steel.

"You have risked everything," Morgana said, her voice like ice. "Everything! Do you know how angry Nimueh will be with us if she finds out?"

"I don't care. It was the right thing to do, and if that means that I have to fight her, then so be it."

"You will not ruin this for me. It may be your wish to throw your life away on a useless prince who will turn on you one day, but I do not share your desire. The prince will die, whether you want him to or not."

Instantly, Merlin's face became just as set, just as hard, as Morgana's. "You will not kill him. I will not let you."

The black-haired witch took a step towards him, her heels clicking menacingly on the stone floor. Merlin was struck in that moment by how terrible and beautiful she was, but then her face was inches from his and all he could see were her eyes and the anger contained in them.

"We shall see, Merlin. Don't think that I will just lay down and let you do whatever it is you want to do. This is my life too, don't forget."

"I never thought you would lay down and give up. Don't worry about me though. I can handle myself."

"I certainly hope so," Morgana spat angrily. "Because from now on, you're on your own." With those final, chilling words, she spun on her heel and marched from the room, slamming the door to her chambers behind her.

Merlin watched her go with a feeling akin to sadness. While he knew that he had done the right thing, it still pained him to hurt her. He loved her dearly, and now she hated him, she was angry at him, and now, they were on opposite sides of the same battle. All he knew for sure was that he needed to prevent her from killing Arthur. At all costs.

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><p><strong>So um I can't promise that I'll update super regularly, but I will definitely do my absolute best. Once again, suuuupppperrrr sorry about the lateness y'all I wish I could tell you how truly sorry I am. Please review and let me know what you think! Reviews also mean I'll be more motivated to finish it!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey y'all! I told you guys that I was actually gonna update and look here's another chapter! I'm fulfilling my promise! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, it's always appreciated. :) I hope you enjoy this installment...**

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

Merlin knew that he needed a plan. Morgana, he felt sure, would do whatever it took to kill Arthur – those were not just empty threats she'd tossed at him. And then there was Nimueh. She would be gone for three weeks, doing something that would probably end up with her in command of Camelot. Her anger once she discovered Arthur was not dead would be fearful, and he wished to be as prepared as possible.

Arthur would recover within two days, and he was Merlin's best chance. The prince would be king within a week, and he trusted Merlin. The problem was that he also trusted Morgana, and she was more dangerous than ever.

Merlin needed to put himself in a position of power in the court, and his easiest way to that was through Arthur and Gaius. As the student of the court physician, he was in a position to gain power that way, but he knew that Arthur considered him a friend, and if he could use that to influence the prince, it might hold more sway.

The first thing to do, he decided, was to ensure Arthur's safety. That thought in mind, he left his room and made his way to the prince's door. The guards outside let him in, and he took a seat beside the bed, in the most uncomfortable chair. Another guard was stationed by the doors, on the inside.

Merlin settled in for a long night. If Morgana was going to do something rash, it would be tonight, before she had time to come up with a plan. He also must dedicate himself to a more feasible plan than this though. He could not always be by the prince's side or with Morgana. No, something else had to be thought of. Merlin shut his eyes and leaned back, focusing his attention on the problem at hand. There must be a solution.

######

Morgana seethed, pacing back and forth in her room, heels clicking on the floor. In frustration, she kicked them off and her eyes flashed gold. They turned to dust, disintegrating onto the carpet. She bared her teeth and clenched her fists, her mind turning Merlin's words over and over. The sense of betrayal that had lodged itself in her heart grew, then morphed into anger. How dare he do this to her! After how hard they'd worked and how much trust she'd put in him. He would pay – they all would pay.

The first problem though, was not Merlin. It was Arthur. Nimueh expected Arthur to be dead, and when she discovered that he was not, it wouldn't matter who had or hadn't poisoned the prince's food. She would hold Morgana just as responsible as Merlin.

This posed more than a few issues, including but not limited to the thought that Morgana might die on Nimueh's whim of displeasure. So she needed to kill Arthur. As soon as possible. Then she needed to either kill or control Merlin. He was a problem, a wild card, weak and a liability. Clearly he saw good where there was none.

But now to get to them... Merlin would be on his guard now. She'd threatened Arthur's life, and he obviously was not going to let the prince go without a fight. In fact she guessed that he was, at this moment, both watching over Arthur and devising a plan to protect him. Just as she was building a plan to kill them. The warlock was a formidable opponent, better at magic than she was, she could admit it without shame. Yet she must have some sort of advantage over him.

Wracking her brain, she attempted desperately to come up with something, anything, that would give her the upper hand. Like a ray of light, it was revealed, kindling a fire in her soul. She had it. She knew how she could defeat both of them. And Merlin could do nothing to stop her. He could not get in her way. A smile spread across her face and her eyes glittered. She would win.

#####

Merlin awoke with a plan fully formed in his mind. He just needed to implement it. Unfortunately, that would be easier said than done, as the Prince was already up and dressed, poring over papers at his desk to the warlock's left. Merlin wiped his face and stretched his neck. The movement caught Arthur's eye and he looked up.

"Ah, Merlin. You're awake."

"Sorry, Your Highness," Merlin said, sitting up. How long had he been asleep?

"Come in here to keep guard over me?" Arthur asked, a little mockingly. "Afraid I'll die without you around?"

Merlin shrugged and stood up, his muscles protesting as they unclenched. "Well, I wouldn't want you to feel unsafe, my lord," he returned. "After all, fever is something you can't fight off with a sword, which I imagine must be very intimidating for you."

Arthur looked Merlin up and down but didn't respond. Merlin thought it was because he couldn't come up with anything. "You are something, Lord Merlin," he said, at last. "Gaius was in here looking for you an hour or so ago. He didn't want to wake you, but he wants you as soon as possible."

"Right then," Merlin said, grateful for the opportunity to leave. "I'd better go. I'm glad you're feeling better, your Highness." He crossed to the door and pulled it open.

"Will you be seeing the Lady Morgana?" Arthur called, stopping Merlin.

"Probably," he said. Well, it wasn't untrue. They just might not get along so well when they encountered each other.

"Ask her if she'd like to join me for dinner tonight. You of course are welcome as well."

"Of course," Merlin said, finally glancing back at the young king. "I'll do just that."

"Good." Arthur returned to his desk and Merlin left the room.

The guards watched him as he pulled the doors closed behind him, and he could feel their eyes tracking him around the corner. He paused just out of sight. The king was in too much danger for Merlin to leave him unprotected, but it also would be suspicious if they were seen together all the time. He rifled through his memories, then concentrated hard. His eyes flashed gold, and he could feel the spell take effect. If anyone with harmful intent came within a ten-foot radius of Arthur, Merlin would know it.

Satisfied, he took off down the hall, towards Gaius' chambers. A hand shot out of a nook in the wall, and he was pulled into the dark. His head spun as he was slammed against the wall and it took him a minute for his eyes to adjust.

Morgana's hands were fisted in Merlin's lapels, her eyes steely gray.

"Oh," Merlin said. "Hey Morgana." There was no way he was going to give her Arthur's invitation. He needed to keep them as far apart as possible.

"What are you thinking?" she spat. "What do you think Nimueh will do when she finds out? And do you really think Arthur's going to renounce his father's policies?"

"I've made my choice," Merlin said. "And I'll stand by it. I think he's good, Morgana, and I will not kill a good person. Not before I give them a chance."

Morgana's face smoothed, the rage cooling. Her hands loosened on the cloth of his jacket and let him down from the wall. "Fine," she said. "We can play the game your way, Merlin."

Oh no. Ohnoohnoohnoohno. "My way?" Merlin choked out. Morgana's hands smoothed the crumpled fabric down, laying it flat against his skin again. Merlin tried not to get distracted.

"Don't pretend. We both know how this is going to go."

"We do?"

He pulled his jacket down as she stepped back, away from him. Her face was cold, hard, eyes like knives. "You took your turn. Now it's mine. Keep your eyes open, little warlock."

"Morgana, please," Merlin began, but she was already gone.

####

Morgana knocked on the door to Arthur's chambers, tossing lofty glances at the guards to either side of her. Her resolve was back, her boiling anger at Merlin cooled. It was clear he truly lost sight of their goals, of their purpose, and she couldn't see how to retrieve him.

The door swung open, and the king peered out at her.

"Lady Morgana," he said, stepping to the side and ushering her in. "How nice it is to see you."

"And you too, my lord," she replied, stepping in.

"Did Merlin give you my message?"

Her eyes narrowed. "No, my lord. I ran into him right outside, but he hurried off. What was it?" It wouldn't hurt to give Merlin's reputation a little knock if she could.

"I wanted to know if you were interested in joining myself and Lord Merlin for dinner this evening."

"Of course, it would be an honor," she said, smiling. "In fact," she purred, stepping forward and looking up at him through her eyelashes. "I was thinking that perhaps you and I could spend some time together..." she gave a very suggestive pause. "Alone."

She didn't even have to look at him to know his reaction. His eyes widened, pupils dilating, hand clenching around the back of a chair. Perfect. Exactly what she wanted. And it didn't hurt that she'd thrown a little love magic his way. He opened and closed his mouth a couple times before regaining control of his speech.

"I – that would- I would- it sounds – that would be great," he stuttered out.

"Perhaps tomorrow, my lord. We could have a picnic lunch? Somewhere far away from this gloomy castle; you're going to let stress eat you up."

"I- um- I'll talk- um." The prince seemed to realize that he was not coming off very well, and closed his eyes, taking a step back and away from Morgana. "I think I have a cabinet meeting tomorrow afternoon, but maybe the day after. I'll have to check."

"Of course, my lord." Morgana dropped into a curtsey. "I look forward to it. For now though, I should leave you to your work."

"Yes, my work," the king repeated. He was still blinking, trying to clear his head. As Morgana reached the door and the last of her magic faded away, he called out. "And you're still joining me for dinner this evening?"

Morgana looked back at him and gave him her most winning smile. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

####

Merlin's alert spell didn't go off all day but that didn't stop him from being jumpy and absentminded, fetching Gaius the wrong books and ingredients until finally the physician had just told him to sit down and stay out of the way.

"What is wrong with you today, Merlin?" he asked. He'd adapted quickly to thinking of Merlin in the context of a student and when they were working together never treated him as noble. It was a relief to the warlock that he didn't need to keep up his ruse in front of everyone. Here he could just be a student, and he knew how to be that better than he knew how to be noble.

"I'm sorry," Merlin replied. "I guess the past few days have just shaken me up."

"Indeed, they have shaken us all," Gaius said. "Such a shock, Uther's death, and then Arthur's sudden illness. We're very lucky he's recovered. I'm not sure what the kingdom would have done if he had died."

"Me neither," Merlin said, his thoughts slipping back to Morgana and the poison. Although he was the one with the extensive knowledge of poisons, she was not wholly ignorant, and all it would take was a single drop of the right one.

"Merlin?"

He snapped out of his mind. "What? Yes, sorry."

Gaius was looking at him expectantly. "Will you fetch me the lavender?"

"Oh, yes." Merlin crossed the room to where bunches of herbs hung from the beams.

"Merlin. This is basil. The lavender, please."

It took Merlin two more tries to gather his mind together enough to find the correct herb.

"Take the rest of the day off," Gaius finally said, his calm facade breaking down and revealing exasperation. "Get yourself together. Maybe you'll be better by tomorrow."

Merlin took the chance gratefully, and escaped to his room. He spent most of the rest of the afternoon pacing his room, watching the courtyard. There was no sign of Morgana anywhere as far as he could tell. He sorted through his poisons and made sure none of them were missing, then cast as many protection and concealment spells on them as he could think of. He ran scenarios through his head, trying desperately to figure out what Morgana had planned. Her response to him in the hallway had been enough to convince him that she had a plan, and one she thought he couldn't thwart. By the time the servant knocked on his door to call him to dinner, he was fairly sure he could handle anything she tried to throw at him.

The warlock followed the servant through the castle, trying to remember where everything was. Without Morgana to guide him, he would get lost a lot more than he'd anticipated, but he was beginning to figure out the layout and create a mental map.

Arthur sat at the head of the table, Morgana to his right. The seat to his left was empty, and as Merlin entered, another servant pulled the chair out for him.

"Lord Merlin," Arthur said as he entered. "Finally."

"We were beginning to think we'd have to eat without you," Morgana said, watching Merlin take his seat across from her. "What could have taken you so long?"

Merlin caught the edge in her voice and tried not to let it shake him. She would sense his weakness if he showed even the slightest hint. "That would have been a shame," he replied instead. "I've been looking forward to this."

Arthur didn't catch the frostiness between them, instead reaching for the platter of meat in front of him. Merlin followed suit with the salad, and Morgana reached for something that looked suspiciously like fried corn.

"So, Your Majesty," Morgana began. "When is your coronation to be?"

"I hadn't thought about it," Arthur said, his voice heavy with grief. "I don't feel fit to wear my father's crown, and I have his burial to plan first."

"I'm so sorry," Morgana said, reaching out to him and laying her slender hand on his arm. "This must be so hard for you. I know what you must be going through."

Arthur looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you, Lady Morgana. I'm so sorry for your loss as well."

Something shifted in Merlin's mind as he watched them, and he saw like a ray of light what Morgana's plan was. He saw the way she looked at him, the way Arthur watched her hand on his arm. Merlin's eyes flickered to Morgana's gray ones, glittering gold in the light of the chandelier and the warlock's hand froze with shock. The love spell was small, but Merlin could tell that Arthur didn't need that much help, if any. This was one possibility he hadn't prepared for, one possibility he wasn't sure he could address. Morgana shot him a look of triumph across the table as she withdrew her hand from Arthur's sleeve and picked her her utensils. Merlin looked down at his plate again, trying to recall what he had been doing.

"Your Majesty," came a voice from the door.

Merlin pulled himself out of his head. He hadn't even noticed the door opening, and he registered that a knight was standing there, a familiar knight, but he couldn't put a name to the face. His mind was still struggling with a solution to his new Morgana problem.

"Yes, Sir Leon, what is it?"

"Your Majesty, we have just received some disturbing intelligence," the knight said, putting his hands on the end of the table.

"Spit it out, we haven't got all night." The knight hesitated, looked significantly at Merlin and Morgana, as though asking Arthur if he really wanted them to hear it. "It's fine, Sir Leon."

The knight took a deep breath. "One of our patrols just returned from the Escetian border."

"That's King Cenred's lands, if I'm not mistaken," Morgana said, her brow furrowing.

"It is, my Lady."

"What's this news?" Arthur cut in.

"King Cenred is gathering an army, Your Majesty. And our patrol said he plans to attack Camelot."

Merlin's heart went cold. That was what Nimueh had been planning. His eyes locked on Morgana's, and for a brief moment, he saw her lips curl up in a smile.

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><p><strong>And that's chapter 9! I intended to post this on Saturday and then I was 400 miles away from my computer for the whole weekend and that didn't happen, so I'm sorry it's late. I'm not sure I'll have one next Saturday but definitely by a week from today and then I'll try to get chapters up on a schedule. And I hope this makes sense in terms of what I've already written... oh well. If you catch something inconsistent please let me know. :D Reviews are always appreciated - I love to hear from y'all!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the wait; it's finals and thus time for all college students to slowly suffocate under mountains of work and stress and papers, but I wanted to get this to you before I die of my four exams next week. I hope y'all enjoy it!**

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><p>Chapter 10<p>

The silence that echoed through the chamber could have been a scream it was so loud. Morgana's smile was replaced a mere half second later by a look of immediate concern and worry. Arthur didn't seem to grasp what was happening for a moment. Merlin's mind went into overdrive. Nimueh. It had to be. And she wasn't working alone... but Cenred wasn't a sorcerer himself, so she must have an ally... Morgause. If it had taken him this long to figure it out, he was certain Morgana would soon if she hadn't already. Her face was impenetrable, a perfect mask of concern and fear as she gazed at Arthur. She was a very good actor.

"Cenred cannot possibly hope to attack us successfully," Arthur scoffed after a moment.

"My L- I mean, Your Highness, he's gathering a huge force. We don't know how long they've been coming together but our scouts tell us we have reason to be afraid."

"Camelot has not fallen, nor will it," Arthur said.

"There's more." Sir Leon looked warily at Arthur, as though he feared how the king would respond. "We found an Escetian spy on our land, not a half a day ago. We have put her in the dungeons, but wanted to know what you wanted done before we did anything else."

_The dungeon_. Merlin knew what a horrible jail it was and resisted the urge to glance at Morgana. If Nimueh and Morgause were involved, it was entirely possible that the spy was himself a magic user. The dungeons would be even more useless, the guards worse than paper dolls. He needed to find a way to ensure that the spy wouldn't escape, but now was not the time. He filed it away in his head and fixed his eyes on Sir Leon and tried to focus on what the knight was saying.

"-their forces are growing, much larger than we ever anticipated Escetian forces could be. My lord, we must react somehow, or Cenred will get the better of us."

Merlin's eyes shifted to Arthur. The young king looked like he was struggling to wrap his mind around what was going on. Morgana's body language said she was all sympathy and fear, but Merlin imagined he could see glee barely held in check behind her concerned words and gestures.

"Oh, Arthur, this is horrible!" Merlin wanted to vomit at her simpering tone but somehow managed to keep control of himself. "What are you going to do?"

He looked at her for a second before speaking. "We will send an envoy to Cenred's court. And in the meanwhile we will prepare for war. He has never been a peaceful king, so I doubt any olive branch we offer will be accepted, but I must try it."

"Of course, your highness." Leon bowed and started to back out of the room, but was recalled by Arthur's voice.

"Oh, and Sir Leon, post twice the number of guards in the dungeons and have a rotating watch outside of his door every hour of the day. After the last breakout, I'm not going to be taking any chances."

Merlin hoped the woman wasn't a sorcerer, or Camelot was in for the breakout of the age. The doors slammed shut, and Sir Leon was gone again.

"What do you mean, prepare for war?" Morgana asked, genuine curiosity getting the better of her.

Arthur sat heavily in his seat. "We will rally all the knights of Camelot together, and gather villagers to train and serve as infantry. Stores of food will be collected. Standard war stuff."

"And you?"

The king did not respond.

"You should move the coronation up, sire," Merlin broke in. "You still need to be made king officially, and while I know the customs are for grand affairs..." he paused before finishing. "It might be wiser simply to keep it small. Camelot will need a strong leader if it comes to war."

"You are probably right Merlin," Arthur said tiredly, slumping backward against his high-backed chair.

"Perhaps you should concentrate first on preparing a defense," Morgana said. Though her words were directed to Arthur, her eyes were on the warlock across from her. "The whole country cannot doubt your right to the throne. A coronation is timely."

Merlin lowered his eyebrows in confusion. What game was she playing here? Encouraging Arthur to build an army and defend Camelot? He couldn't see any sort of advantage in that, but he knew there was one. Morgana didn't do anything unless there was a purpose to it. He just needed to figure out what it was.

"A fierce suggestion, Lady Morgana. Though I suppose I should have suspected no less from you." Arthur gave Morgana a glance that set Merlin's stomach churning. It was a look filled with... affection. And it reminded him of what Morgana had told him, that Arthur had been flirting with her. Anger and frustration boiled inside of him. _This _was Morgana's plan. It was clever, that was for sure, and there was almost nothing he could do to stop it.

Merlin cursed himself quietly. His alert spell hadn't gone off because it was designed only to detect people meaning the prince immediate harm, not false affection and adoration.

"But no, Camelot will need a king if it comes to war, not an uncrowned prince. As much as I hate to take the crown so quickly after my father's death, I fear it's necessary."

Merlin met Morgana's eyes over the table. They shone with the fervor of the converted, bright and dangerous.

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The castle guards were massing in the courtyard below Merlin's window; he could hear them shouting and clanging around, trying to prepare for the war. The torches held the dark at bay, but it crept over the rest of the castle like a fog. Merlin paced the floor in circles, trying to decide what to do. The war was a mixed blessing. With all that it would take to prepare his army and country for war, Arthur was unlikely to have time to spend on romantic pursuits. So while Morgana was not out of the picture by any means she was perhaps less of a threat than Merlin had feared she would be. But he would rather have feared her over Nimueh and Morgause. At least with her, he felt that he could change her, that he held some sort of sway over her still. Nimueh had never been trustworthy to him, even as a child he knew not to put his faith in her, and it had been years since he'd last seen Morgause and they'd never been close anyway. Both of them were powerful sorceresses in their own rights, and he knew he couldn't defeat them alone. And Cenred... he was a power hungry king, in command of a large army and with the power of both Morgause and Nimueh behind him, he could not fail.

He heard footsteps tapping in the corridor outside his door. He recognized those footsteps. In a few long strides he had crossed the floor of his room and pulled open his door. Morgana's black hair shone in the torchlight as she passed to her room.

"Morgana," he called softly. She turned, face unreadable again.

"We need to talk."

"What about? I thought we cleared everything up already."

"No, Morgana, I'm serious."

Rolling her eyes, she crossed to his door, barely brushing the front of his tunic as she entered. "What, Merlin?"

He closed the door and turned to face her. She stood by the table in the center of his room, one pale, slender hand resting against its polished surface. Merlin looked at her for a moment without speaking.

"Well? I'm waiting." She trailed her fingers along the table. "If you're going to try to persuade me not to kill Arthur, it's not going to work. He's just as vile as his father, every second of time spent with him is nauseating."

"No, Morgana, listen. This thing with Cenred-"

"Is brilliant, it was Nimueh's plan all along," Morgana cut him off. "Cenred has always been fair to magic users, he does not punish those who use magic well, only those use it for evil ends."

"No, Morgana, you don't see what's going on." Merlin needed to make her understand, or at least give her the chance to understand.

"What am I not seeing?" She set her mouth in a thin line, her face haughty and challenging.

"Nimueh was planning to invade Camelot from the beginning. She told us that we would take over and make Camelot into a safe place again, depose a violent and unfair ruling line, but this... don't you see? She never planned to let us do what we thought was right. Once we had killed Uther and Arthur and Camelot fell into chaos, she and Morgause would sweep over the land with Cenred's army and depose _us_. She was using us to gain power. We're nothing but pawns to her." The whole time Merlin spoke, Morgana's face remained stony and impassive. He wished anger didn't turn her into such a hard person. She was much easier to read, easier to understand when she was happy or sad or even afraid.

"That's ridiculous," she finally said. "Nimueh would never do that to us; we are like children to her, her children."

"Morgana, it all makes sense now."

"No!" And suddenly she was visibly angry, her body stiffening and straightening. "You can't play your mind games with me, Merlin. Arthur will be just as bad as his father and Nimueh is right to want him gone. She wouldn't lie to us."

Merlin felt himself growing angry as well at her fierce denial of the facts, of the truth that was staring her in the face. He had handed it to her on a silver platter and she still couldn't see it. Or wouldn't see it – he knew Morgana was smart enough, she was smarter even than him, but so proud. She would never admit she'd made a mistake, not unless the world was ending, not unless it was the only thing that could save her. Merlin couldn't let her make this mistake, couldn't sit by and watch the only person he'd ever really cared for destroy herself.

"Goodnight, Merlin," she said, her voice as hard as her face. "Don't address me again unless you come to your senses. I'll see myself out."

The door slammed behind her, the sound heavy and final. Merlin wanted to scream, to throw things, to tie Morgana to a chair until he could force her to understand. Before, it had just been about Arthur's life, but she was in danger now too. He knew she was still good, somewhere inside, and he needed to protect her too.

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Morgana's room felt small as she paced in circles around it. The walls seemed to close in around her, trap her in their little box. She missed the misty halls on the Isles of the Blessed, missed looking up at the moon and knowing her place in the world. Merlin had shaken her, shaken her confidence and her faith.

She needed to get out, to stand under the stars in open air again. The courtyard was still busy with men and shouting, even at this hour of night, and so Morgana made her way through the twisty halls of the castle. The battlements seemed like a good enough place, far enough away from the inner courtyard to keep the noise away, and they weren't usually heavily patrolled. Even with the threat of war looming on the horizon, she doubted they would have upped the guard. Most of Camelot's men seemed to be in the inner courtyard, making ungodly amounts of noise like it was their job. Which, she supposed, it was, in a way.

Just as she suspected, the wide white stone walkway was mostly deserted. Morgana made her way along them, away from the castle and the door that had brought her there. The lights of the city couldn't reach the sky out here, and the stars and moon hung bright above her. She took a deep breath of the cold night air, feeling freer, like she could spread her arms and just soar away.

She rested her arms against the pale stones, almost feeling like she could sense the history behind them, all the kings and wars and magic they had seen. Merlin's words floated through her mind again and for a brief moment she considered them. Although she could see the logic behind them, she wanted to trust Nimueh. And Morgause, her sister. Her blood sister, closer than Merlin at least, though it had been years since they'd seen each other. For a second she felt like Merlin was right. His eyes had been so fearful and honest. He'd looked so angry when she left him, and she hated being the cause of such a feeling within him. She wished they were still close, still working as a unit. She missed him more than she realized.

"Lady Morgana." The voice startled her out of her reverie. "I didn't expect to find you out here at such an hour. May I join you?"

"Of course, my lord," she replied out of habit.

Arthur put his arms next to hers, his red tunic like blood on the walls. "What brings you out at this time of night?"

"Oh, lots of things." There was silence for a minute, but not tense silence as she would have expected it to be, rather a calm, almost companionable silence. "Merlin and I had an argument." The words slipped out, unbidden.

"I'm sorry, that can be hard. Do you want to tell me about it."

"Not really. It's just hard to not get along with him all the time." Morgana didn't know where all of this was coming from, and wished she could just keep her mouth shut. She closed it like a trap, telling herself to keep it inside.

"That's fine. It's hard to argue with people you care about." Arthur took a deep breath and let it out. "My father and I didn't always get along. We didn't agree about everything and sometimes... well sometimes I felt like he wasn't always making the right choices. But now he's dead and I'll never see him again."

"Do you miss him?" Morgana asked, even though she didn't really care. It would be better to keep him talking than to continue to talk herself.

"Yes. But it's changed my perspective. In some ways I can see the wisdom in his decisions, in the battles he chose to fight. I haven't even been King for a week, and everyone already expects so much of me. I can't imagine doing it for my whole life."

Morgana looked at him, looking out over the trees, trying to think of something to say.

"Sometimes I just want to run away," he said. "Take my horse and sword and just ride away and leave it all behind."

"Why don't you?" This time Morgana was actually curious.

He turned his head and looked at her. "I have duties. To Camelot, to my father, to my people. And I can't abandon them."

Her mind went to her own duties, to the truths that had been hammered into her for as long as she could remember. Her duties were to her family, to Nimueh and Morgause and Merlin. Yet her duties were to people too, to her people, to magic users who had been murdered and chased for decades.

"We all have duties," she said finally, and they fell into silence again, under the stars and the shadow of war.

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><p><strong>So I hope it made sense and they were all in character and stuff. I've also been considering turning it into an M-rated fic at some point, but that depends on how long I end up making it and so I wanted your input. Would you prefer that I keep it PG-13 or would you be interested in upping the rating to R? And the higher the rating, the longer it will probably be. So please let me know! I always love to hear from you because without you, this would be nothing.<strong>


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